Sergio Perez accepted blame for the error which put him out of qualifying and left him on the back row of the grid for the British Grand Prix.
The Red Bull driver spun into a gravel trap at Copse corner during Q1 and was unable to rejoin. He was tackling the corner for the first time after switching to slick tyres as the damp track dried out.“It seemed to be quite wet on the entry and on the white line it was quite slippery,” he said in response to a question from RaceFans. “Unfortunately, I was the first one probably to go through that corner on a slick tyre.
“Cold tyres, so everything combined, it was the result. I think people went out probably 20 minutes after and still it was a tricky corner. But anyway, I put my hand up because I fucked up today and tomorrow is anything.”
His team mate Max Verstappen went off at the same corner after the session restarted, as did Nico Hulkenberg.
Perez said he was unable to get out of the gravel trap he spun into due to the amount of water which had sunk into the run-off area during the persistent showers at Silverstone.
“It was completely sunk [with] water outside of the track, so I just ended up going into the gravel,” he said. “I couldn’t stop the car, I couldn’t go straight. Very unfortunate incident.”
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
Despite signing a contract extension with Red Bull earlier this year, Perez’s future has been the subject of fresh speculation as his poor haul of points in recent races is jeopardising his team’s constructors’ championship lead. However he insisted any questions over his future has “nothing to do with” his performance.
“I’m fully focussed on my job. I’m fully focussed on getting the performance out of myself, the form that I know what I can be.
“Yesterday we had a very positive day. Things were looking in the right direction. So head down and it’s a matter of time before we can turn around this situation.”
Miss nothing from RaceFans
Get a daily email with all our latest stories - and nothing else. No marketing, no ads. Sign up here:
2024 British Grand Prix
- The ‘good and bad’ reason Piastri is sure he can win after three near-misses
- Gasly solved mystery handling problem by using Ocon’s settings
- Mercedes “will be in an even stronger position” after next upgrade – Hamilton
- Verstappen “refuses to believe” Red Bull are reaching limit of RB20’s potential
- Why “under construction” McLaren still celebrate third place after missing a win
Osnola
6th July 2024, 18:33
Well at least he admits this time…
No far fetched excuses.
Coventry Climax
6th July 2024, 18:48
I think he comes up with quite a few excuses, actually, although none of them are valid, obviously.
Quite wet, slippery on the white line, unfortunately the first one through that corner, cold tyres, gravel trap sunk with water, it’s all there, the whole shebam, and none of it is anything he could not have known.
What a lousy driver he is. I’m more and more flabbergasted each time that he’s still in the Red Bull.
Davethechicken
6th July 2024, 21:16
And to think red bull refused hulkenberg when Perez joined. It was obvious then the Hulk was better. Did Jos veto Nico?
Jojo
6th July 2024, 23:36
Back in 2020 it was who were pushing for Hulk to get the Red Bull seat, but Horner and co chose Perez. Hulk would have been a great choice.
Jojo
6th July 2024, 23:37
*it was the Verstappens who were pushing for Hulk to get the seat
Dave
7th July 2024, 0:33
I don’t know about Jos but Max said it would have been silly for RBR to pursue ALO because he is “old”.
Although I like Max it was obvious he doesn’t want a teammate who would be too competitive with him.
BLS (@brightlampshade)
6th July 2024, 18:57
It’s telling that he’s still holding onto his drive despite weekend after weekend of being mediocre at best.
Bet Albon and Kyvat etc wish they had this level of forgiveness from RBR.
Biggsy
6th July 2024, 19:15
He’s not being mediocre. He’s being absolutely abysmal.
It beyond comprehension how he manages to keep his seat, when you compare to how little patience Red Bull had for their much younger and less experienced juniors.
At this point, this feels like some humiliation fetish on behalf of Perez. I can’t understand how he isn’t so embarrassed, that he simply quits to stop humiliating himself.
The average “mediocre teammate” is usually someone who regularly finishes a few places behind their champion-level teammate. Perez on the other hand struggles to even finish a race, and regularly qualifies in the bottom half of the grid.
Absolutely atrocious performance.
I can’t imagine sucking this much at your job, and not getting fired…
Nick T.
6th July 2024, 20:17
I agree. I don’t think he can survive one more weekend of this (as in another consecutive failure of this scale). Horner is shaking his head knowing the camera is looking at him and the embarrassment is becoming too much. And there’s no way he hasn’t violated a performance clause allowing them to release him.
Leeroy
7th July 2024, 6:06
I can only think that the Verstappens have told Red Bull “Max will hang around as long as you keep Perez next to him……”
Jos was very vocal of the Horner controversy. Since Perez has re-signed Jos has gone quiet…
Is Perez the peace deal?
stefano (@alfa145)
6th July 2024, 19:43
the weird thing in all of this, is that Red Bull and sister team have always been so quick in replacing their drivers as soon as they were subpar for more than a race, and yet Perez got a two years extention of his contract. I truly don’t understand, based on what we know, so I wonder what’s under the table to justify such difference in line by Red Bull management. I mean, not even a demotion to sister team is weird, coming from them
Nick T.
6th July 2024, 21:36
We’ve been over the why countless times:
1. Keep Max happy (40%)
2. Money (60%)
-Checo brings tens-of-millions in sponsors (the execs being able to make the team absolutely free to the parent company AND pay themselves multi-million dollar bonuses can buy a lot of patience)
-Checo sells millions of dollars worth of merchandise
-Mexico is a huge and therefore valuable and important market for the Red Bull beverage (remember, the supposed reason the team exists)
–
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
6th July 2024, 21:46
Red bull is still one of the richest teams in f1, and now with budget cap limiting spending a lot for those big teams compared to the seasons before it was introduced I’m surprised they need money that badly, they’re basically a laughing stock for keeping perez with the current form now.
Nick T.
6th July 2024, 23:12
They don’t need the money that badly. But, like I said, how many of us would turn being able to pay ourselves millions in bonuses just to sign a more competitive driver? Also, you get a lot more operational independence from interfering boards when you’re not only providing billions of dollars worth marketing exposure, but doing it at zero cost to the company.
David BR (@david-br)
6th July 2024, 22:23
They seem to be the reasons. But are they good reasons? One driver won’t win the constructors championship for the team if wins are no longer guaranteed and the other driver is failing to score points. And as for money, surely Red Bull can find alternatives? Those fizzy drinks sell everywhere.
Nick T.
6th July 2024, 23:14
They don’t care about the WCC. They don’t manufacture cars. Even the manufacturers consider the WDC infinitely more important. The WCC is just icing on the cake.
EffWunFan (@cairnsfella)
7th July 2024, 9:59
I think Ferrari still prioritise the WCC. Or at least they did last time I saw any comment on the matter.
Nick T.
6th July 2024, 23:19
PS – Are they good reasons? Not for us the fans (excluding Mexican/Checo fans), but for the corporate entity known as Red Bull and the team’s executives, they’re very good reasons. F1 is not a charity. It’s a business.
To be clear, I don’t like it. I am simply reiterating why they would find those very good reasons.
Nulla Pax (@nullapax)
6th July 2024, 19:58
At this point, I would even consider hiring Stroll (without even asking his Dad for money) rather than employ Perez.
It seems to be the common understanding that Checo was retained by Red Bull in order to keep “Clan Verstappen” happy and on-board, but this is just getting ridiculous now.
If Max decides to leave at the end of 2025, then they will be looking at starting from scratch with a totally unprepared engine manufacturer – a clown driver that no one will buy off them – and no Adrian Newey to try to save them.
They might get some Press interest from Horners latest antics, but other than that, they gonna be all back of the bus and s#1t.
Chints
6th July 2024, 20:22
Somehow i feel the contract extension was more like a reward from horner cl because perez backed him up massively and publicly during the sexting scandal… Plus he was performing as per expectations, getting podiums etc.
Also it’s a pattern like last few years, he starts performing well at the beginning, loses it by mid season, and then pick it up again towards the end
Nick T.
6th July 2024, 21:41
How did he massively back him up? Releasing quotes that said “Horner is a good boss.” How much goodwill do you think that bought with the media? Little-to-none. And, if Checo was vital in keeping Horner around, I doubt Max would have put his thumb so heavily on the scale to keep Checo there. I am sure it helped Checo, but once again the $50m or so Checo helps bring in/generate for the team is probably a tad more important. Finally, when he was signed, his season had been going well.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
6th July 2024, 21:51
They signed him after he had already underpeformed for a couple of races, if you were a team manager, wouldn’t you want to make sure he goes back to the early season level before signing him? You’re managing the best team, there’s no rush.
Nick T.
6th July 2024, 23:26
I agree. To me, that aspect didn’t make any sense. However, when they actually inked the contract, he had only come off one poor weekend. It still makes no sense to me. The only thought process, playing devil’s advocate, I can see is this:
1. They knew they weren’t going to sign a competitive enough driver to make Max feel even the slightest discomfort
2. Due to Daniel’s mediocre start, who was the only in-house driver they had been set to seriously considering, they probably had dismissed the idea at that point.
3. Assuming the former two points + they assumed getting the deal done would take pressure off Checo and allow him to perform better. However, like Bottas, seems their seat needs to be at stake to be fully motivated (actually, I don’t think that’s true for Checo).
Edvaldo
6th July 2024, 20:37
“The tarmac is there, they can push me”
Unbelievable.
Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
6th July 2024, 20:47
Incredible…
Nick T.
6th July 2024, 21:42
I forgive him for that. He was feeling humiliated and desperate. He may annoy as a driver, but he’s still human.
Edvaldo
6th July 2024, 20:40
And to think people still say he’s on the same level as Bottas, Webber or Barrichello.
Mate, is not even close.
In a rare day off from Max, in which he looked beatable, Perez was as bad as ever.
The only driver to get stuck in the gravel trap. And it’s not even the first time with Red Bull that he’s the only one.
Nick T.
6th July 2024, 21:44
Pre-RBR, I’d take Checo any day over Rubens. Any day. Also, I don’t remember anyone besides hardcore Checo fans saying he was better than Bottas and really haven’t heard him compared to Webber.
Edvaldo
6th July 2024, 22:02
i’d take Rubens any day of the week. Never saw Perez putting stuff like France 1999 or Britain 2008.
Most of Perez’s podiums on Sauber or the pink team were more related to Pirelli’s circus tyres than to some stellar performance by him. Malaysia 2012 was pretty epic, but he could’ve won that race and made a mistake.
Nick T.
6th July 2024, 23:31
I saw Rubens drive so many terrible races yet so few amazing races despite all the great machinery he was in. So, we’ll have to agree to disagree. I do like Rubens though and there is one area that he deserves a lot of credit for: he was an absolute master at figuring how to improve car setups. In fact, while Michael was amazing at feedback and car development, he owed a lot of gratitude to Rubino for putting together the best setups for the car as well as doing a lot of the donkey work in practice.
Edvaldo
7th July 2024, 0:06
As a top driver Rubens was not up to the task, but what Perez is doing in what is a top car is something that makes even all time upsets like Frentzen in 1997 look good. Ricciardo can’t be worse than that.
And they keep giving him extensions!
Nick T.
7th July 2024, 9:44
I agree with you there.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
6th July 2024, 21:55
Yes, it’s ridiculous to say he’s at bottas level, and in my opinion he got close to being that in 2021, but then just wasn’t at the same level.
Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
6th July 2024, 20:46
Julian Jakobi probably deserves a Nobel prize for arranging that two year contract extension all while Perez was being absolutely mediocre.
Now it’s not even fun anymore. I can’t remember a driver underperforming as much as Perez in the past 20 years…
Biggsy
6th July 2024, 21:34
As I wrote above:
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
6th July 2024, 21:57
I mean, albon and gasly were pretty abysmal at red bull, occasionally getting lapped by verstappen, perez however was decent early on and then since 2023 has been really bad, probably at the level of his predecessors.
Nick T.
6th July 2024, 23:33
Gasly had enough experience that he should have been better. Albon I feel like was really thrown into the fire and while his highs weren’t as high, the car wasn’t nearly as good and his lows weren’t nearly as low let alone so extended in nature.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
7th July 2024, 2:29
Yes, albon was much less experienced when he joined, and as I recall he was actually decent his first season, but oddly enough, instead of getting better the second season with the car, he got further off the pace, and that’s when the threat of being dropped started; he was actually improving slightly again in the end of 2020 but it was what’s referred to as “too little too late”, horner himself said that if he had performed like the last race or 2 a bit earlier they’d have kept him.
Yrfthr
6th July 2024, 21:42
Yet he Is an F1 driver and all here are not, just writing criticisms
Nick T.
7th July 2024, 9:46
Amazing point! I had thought I was one until you pointed that out!
David BR (@david-br)
6th July 2024, 22:16
Max is 81 points ahead of second place (Norris) in the WDC and can probably look after himself, If he needed help, he wouldn’t be happy with Perez resigning.
Perez is in 5th place and likely to be in 7th by the end of this weekend. Red Bull are only 64 points ahead in the WCC. If McLaren and Mercedes have effectively caught them in performance terms, especially if Max is beaten, that gap is going to dwindle to nothing fairly quickly on Perez’s current form, maybe even in the space of two races. That would surely make Perez’s position at the team rapidly untenable. If Red Bull are second or third fastest car, no amount of Max-shaped talent is going to give them the constructors championship.
Will Perez improve? Not if last season is a guide (and that’s the pattern he’s been following).
Nick T.
6th July 2024, 23:34
He was happy with the resigning when he thought he’d continue to have easy wins where the toughest challenge he’d face is an opening lap lunge from the likes of Norris or a Ferrari. He’s not so happy now.
David BR (@david-br)
7th July 2024, 14:44
He can’t be happy with Red Bull being caught, no, but I doubt he gives a second thought to Perez helping him on track. Even though Perez’s defensive driving won him the 2021 title (along with Masi’s contribution), I don’t think he was relying on that help before the race or even during it – just a quick thanks after the event. I respect Verstappen for that. It has a flipside: he’s completely uninterested in helping his team mate, Perez or anyone else, as we’ve seen numerous times.
Nick T.
6th July 2024, 23:37
And this isn’t about the WDC. He’s not worried about that. But he does want to win as often as possible and win another WDC next year. That gets a lot tougher when you have no one creating a buffer or preventing competitors with two good drivers running split strategies.
David BR (@david-br)
7th July 2024, 14:49
See above. Off track I’ve never once heard Verstappen mention needing help from a team mate, even indirectly. During races, there are isolated moments when he might say something that sounds like he’d like help via his team mate’s race strategy, but they sound to me like the thinking of someone who will maximize anything during a race to win it, not a recognition that he’s part of a two-driver team and that they win or lose together.
Sonny Crockett (@sonnycrockett)
6th July 2024, 23:02
Perez has a lot of bad luck, unlike his multi championship winning teammate.
Funny that.
It’s almost like, and I’m clutching at straws here… he might be… a significantly worse driver.
Sorry for making such an outlandish statement. It’s probably just bad luck and, you know, a wad of Carlos Slim’s cash wedged against a curb at Maggots or something.
Applebook
6th July 2024, 23:40
Disagree. It’s just bad luck and setup. Once he unlocks the right setup, he will lap Max. Just you watch.
Nick T.
6th July 2024, 23:41
Don’t be ridiculous. Checo compared favorably with Stroll. Ironically, someone explained how dare anyone mention Hulkenberg in the same sentence. Yet Checo beat Hulkenberg. And, I’m sorry, but an ability to run competitive lap times while preserving your tires is a legitimate skill no matter your opinion of the tires. However, just like Stroll, the faster the car gets the less impressive he is. Pop him back into a midfield car like the Williams and he’d probably put in some impressive drives again.
Edvaldo
7th July 2024, 2:21
I believe Hulkenberg would be a better fit to Red Bull than Perez. Hulk does what he’s doing in Haas since his first season, he’s simply a very fast driver.
Pérez was never a great qualifier. His thing was race pace and saving tyres, but in a fast car in which he can start in the first row, it’s more important to start at the front. Bottas in his Mercedes days wasnt known for his pace but as he was always starting ahead, it was enough for good finishes most of the time.
Pérez on the other hand has been stuck behind someone for the vast majority of his time in that car, his good results from the beginning of the season are mostly due to good qualifyings and just following Max home.
If he fix his awful qualifying form he fixes most of his issues, but 4 seasons in, i dont see that happening.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
7th July 2024, 2:26
Yes, his qualifying speed comes from before joining red bull, perez and bottas always had different strengths, and in a tight field like now where sometimes there’s many cars within a few tenths, that’s a big handicap.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
7th July 2024, 2:24
I don’t think it’s always true he gets worse as the car gets better: early season the car was pretty dominant and he was more consistently right behind verstappen, while now that it’s still a good car but not dominant he’s very far back.
However I also think if you gave him a williams he’d go back to the level he was at before red bull, or at least before 2023.
Coventry Climax
7th July 2024, 10:49
There’s one big ‘but’ to what you say were impressive Checo drives: Those have almost always been recovery drives, after first having messed up hugely, either in qualifying or in the opening laps of a race.
For a driver to earn the predicate ‘impressive’, that would mean putting in above average results and not putting oneself into any unneccessary ‘recovery’ positions consistently. Given the positions he sometimes recovered to, he should just have easily won those weekends by not needing to recover in the first place.
Perez’ truly good results are turning out to have been outliers more than anything else.
Davethechicken
7th July 2024, 13:32
Lance was at Perez pace at RP. I know the drivers standing for 2019 but if you look beyond that he beat Perez to the chequered flag as often as Perez beat him.
Furthermore Stroll was only 20 years old in 2019. Max age 20 was still losing races to Dan Ric.
I know there is a running joke that Lance is only there because of his Dads money, but he will be a much better driver now than 2019 and Perez seemingly a lot worse.
Lance would easily beat Sergio now would be my feeling.
F180 (@f180)
7th July 2024, 9:33
It’s a tribal thing what is happening at Red Bull. Team Horner vs team Marko. Riccardo, Checo and his sponsors, the racing team belongs to Horner. Marko has the Verstappens and he wishes to control Red Bull and RB second seats . With Newey going out and Toto’s minions in the loose all together with Mercedes recovering and McLaren breathing on Red Bull’s neck Horner is running out of options. Horner got a huge vote of confidence when the board cleared him of wrongdoing. That triggered that angered Jos. Observe how Marko stopped criticizing Checo once he played the nationality card very badly. If he hadn’t opened his mouth Checo would have been fired long time ago. Marko tied Verstappen to Red Bull with a long term contract with the hope of Horner being ousted by the board by maneuvering in the shadows. Marko wants Horner out and probably has a candidate to propose to the board. Horner played defensively tying Checo two more seasons. Checo is a tool with some driving potential left and very loyal to Horner. Horner also has the Thais on side. We expect Red Bull to be commuted to win and please the fans but in reality is Enron 2.0
MichaelN
7th July 2024, 9:51
Yeah, given all the shenanigans at Red Bull it doesn’t really make sense to ignore that and pretend Pérez is still there for sporting reasons.
It’s become so bad that even the notoriously obsequious licensed F1 media is having a hard time ignoring the bigger issues.
EffWunFan (@cairnsfella)
7th July 2024, 10:09
I have always believed Sergio was a better driver than he currently seems to demonstrate.
Perhaps his better performances in previous cars were down to those cars being better than was given credit. But then I wonder why/how he has shown glimmers of being acceptably close to Max. I’m not sure I could even justify it with the assertion that he is just an inconsistent driver. At least not with the number of races he now has under his belt.
Regardless, it is now farcical that he is being retained. I accept that Red Bull (may) have reasons for keeping him, but in the bigger picture, in a sport with space for 20 competitors, it makes me sad that perhaps at least 15% of them have proven that they do not really deserve thier place, yet they are (at the moment) still taking up spaces.
Coventry Climax
7th July 2024, 11:00
Well, there you have it: You may have always believed he was better than he showed, but the results to justify such beliefs were never actually there.
David BR (@david-br)
7th July 2024, 14:39
@cairnsfella Peak Perez was when we had the wonders of ‘tyre preservation’ and ‘nursing tyres’ as the apex of mid-grid team driver performance. Thankfully that era has vanished (for now). Racing skill, overall speed and the mental ability to put in competitive one lap times are now more important. Perez is good (or better than his usual) out of 90 degree corners and a few circuits favour that driving style, but they’re early in the season. When mid to high-speed corners and wet weather (Europe) come into play, his performance nosedives.