Out of the frying pan into the fire: Sergio Perez experienced a disappointing race in Montreal at the 2024 Canadian GP after a disastrous qualifying session including a Q1 exit. While his Red Bull teammate Max Verstappen celebrated his sixth Grand Prix victory on the ninth race weekend of the season, Perez only slowly found a way forward from 16th place on the grid and found himself outside the points – until he drove his RB20 into the barriers of Turn 6 on the 52nd of 70 race laps.
As the track dried out, Perez lost control of the rear of his car and crashed backwards. Perez sustained significant damage to his rear wing. He was able to bring his battered car back to the pits, but had to park it there early. For Perez, it is the second weekend in a row without scoring any points – and that after he had signed a contract extension with Red Bull just five days earlier. “I made a mistake in turn 6,” Perez said after the race, making no secret of the obvious.
Perez points possible without an accident?
At the same time, the six-time GP winner noted: “It was one of the most difficult corners, where many drivers made mistakes. Unfortunately, I was one of those few and couldn’t control the car.” In fact, Perez was not the only driver who struggled with the corner. Early in the race, Logan Sargeant braked badly and hit the barriers with his FW46. And just one lap after Perez, Carlos Sainz made a similar mistake, but he did not spin into the track barrier, but into Alexander Albon.
It was precisely this incident that could have put Perez in the points despite a race that was not particularly notable. Before that, the 266-time GP starter was in 13th place – directly behind Daniel Ricciardo, who later finished eighth. The start was a bad omen for Perez’s afternoon, however, as Perez not only lost two positions, but also collided with Pierre Gasly in the Alpine.
Perez suffers damage after starting collision with Gasly
Coming out of turn 2, Perez skidded slightly and his left front axle touched Gasly’s right rear axle. The Frenchman spun briefly into Perez, but strangely enough, contact with Perez’s front wing pushed him back into the right direction. Unfortunately for Perez, however, he sustained damage.
“The first part of my race was affected by Gasly’s damage. The second and third parts looked better, but we were stuck there,” Perez tried to explain. Like many other drivers, Perez stopped for fresh intermediates at the end of lap 25 during the first safety car phase and was then stuck in P16 in a line of cars without DRS and was only able to gain one position on Kevin Magnussen.
After the track dried out, Perez switched to the medium tyres after 43 laps. He gained another position against Valtteri Bottas with an undercut and overtook Nico Hülkenberg on the track – but just a few laps later the race-ending mistake followed. “We have to regroup and keep a cool head,” said Perez after another disappointing weekend.
Perez doesn’t want to know anything about the mood of crisis: Self-confidence is there
“It’s a long season,” Perez said, trying to persevere. “We were in good form two races ago. So there’s no doubt that I won’t be able to get back to that level.” The main thing, Perez said, is a clean weekend. Over the last three weekends, Perez’s Achilles heel was qualifying, during which he repeatedly complained about various problems with the rear axle.
“The pace is there, the confidence is there,” says Perez, but he doesn’t want to hear of any crisis mood. “I will of course take the time to analyse everything with the team and make sure that we come back just as strong as before.” This is urgently needed given the increasingly tight balance of power in Formula 1. In Canada, Verstappen sometimes had to take on two McLarens and Mercedes’ – while his team-mate finished outside the points.
“The competition is definitely tighter and is getting closer to us. So we just have to be perfect and get everything out of it,” Perez is also aware of this fact. In the drivers’ championship, Perez is still fifth after only four points from the last three races, but Oscar Piastri has moved up to 26 points. Perez is already 87 points behind the championship leader Verstappen.
Sergio Perez was not the only one among the unhappy faces after the 2024 Canadian Grand Prix. Record world champion Lewis Hamilton was also anything but satisfied with the outcome of the ninth Grand Prix of the season after the race. You can read all the details in this article: