Sergio Perez laid the blame for his opening lap entanglement with George Russell at the 2022 F1 Austrian GP squarely at the feet of the Mercedes driver.
The Red Bull driver had a rough start to the race weekend after being demoted to P13 following Friday’s qualifying session for exceeding track limits in Q2. However, he did well to make up places in the Sprint race, climbing to P4 before starting Sunday’s GP on the second row.
Sergio Perez’s race did not go to plan after he was caught by George Russell and picked up substantial damage from that incident. The 32-year-old driver had to subsequently retire while Russell finished the race in P4 despite serving a five-second penalty.
Speaking in an interview after the race, Perez did not mince his words when asked about the incident. He said:
“Big shame for us what happened today. Because clearly it felt from our side that we did everything we possibly could to avoid the incident. It’s only Lap 1 and it was up to George [Russell] to really control his car, he couldn’t control it clearly. And we ended up making contact when I was clearly ahead.”
When asked if Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz’s DNF was a source of solace for him and Red Bull in the context of the world championships, Perez added:
“Not at all to be honest. I’m very sorry for Carlos, what happened today, but yeah that’s not to do with us.”
Perez feels Red Bull has its work cut out for it after the Austrian GP. He concluded the interview by saying:
“I think the car this week, it hasn’t been really up there.”
“I’m much more prepared” – Sergio Perez feels more ‘confident’ in current Red Bull car than last year
Sergio Perez is admittedly much more comfortable with his Red Bull car in his second season with the team.
The Mexican joined Red Bull from Racing Point (now Aston Martin F1) in a dramatic turn of events following the conclusion of the 2020 F1 season. His first year with the Milton Keynes-based team was mainly spent trying to adapt to a new car design and concept.
Sergio Perez claimed five podium finishes and one win, as well as playing a vital role in dueling with Lewis Hamilton to aid Max Verstappen’s cause in the 2021 F1 season finale.
Now, he feels much more at home in the cockpit of his Red Bull RB18. Speaking in an interview in the lead-up to the 2022 F1 British GP, the 32-year-old said:
“I’m definitely more comfortable with the car than I was last year. For example, it took me a bit longer to adapt to last year’s car. This year I can feel that already from FP1 I can start working on the car instead of working how to exploit the maximum out of the car. So that’s a huge difference over the weekend.”
He added:
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“When I go into qualifying I’m much more prepared and similarly when I go into the race I think we’ve got a good platform. I’m confident with the car and I know what I have to do with the team to take the most out of it.”
Having reached the halfway stage of the season, Sergio Perez is currently third in the World Drivers’ Championship with 151 points.
