Red Bull F1 team principal Christian Horner praised how Sergio Perez handled the various factors to win the F1 Singapore Grand Prix, especially the management of the safety car period.
Sergio Perez started the race from second on the grid but had a stronger start than pole-sitter Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) and was largely unchallenged in his drive to victory at the Marina Bay Street Circuit. .
Nonetheless, the 2022 F1 Singapore GP was a turbulent race, with several safety car phases and changes in course conditions after rain.
Christian Horner was impressed by Sergio Perez’s performance at the busy event held at the Marina Bay Street Circuit.
“I thought he was phenomenal,” Horner told media outlets, including RacingNews365.com.
“He beat Charles at the start, but the first stint was really tricky for an intermediate, but he was able to close the gap and control the virtual safety car.
“Then the safety car was brought in and he had to start over. Then as we headed towards the actual pit stop he pulled out a decent lap so I was very comfortable on the lap after Charles. I had time to pit.”
“Again, I think we got the timing right. Then the safety car came out and everything was wiped out.”
Christian Horner feels Sergio Perez did a particularly good job during the safety car period.
“Of course it’s always difficult in those situations because I’m the reference as the lead car,” said Horner.
“But his job on the slicks…he was calm, he kept his cool. He had some key moments.”
“Charles was going all out in the DRS zone. As soon as Charles made one mistake and dropped out of the DRS zone, the Czechs had the ability to find their rhythm and extend their lead. His incredible drive. was” “
Sergio Perez was able to hold on to victory after being investigated by the stewards for a safety car breach. Perez was handed a five-second time penalty after the race, but it didn’t affect the result.
The win looked like a step forward in terms of pace for Sergio Perez. Christian Horner was asked if this was a real improvement for the 32-year-old Perez or if the hardships faced by team-mate Max Verstappen helped enhance his performance.
“I think it’s all Czech credit. He qualified on the front row of the grid, within 2/100ths of a second from pole and controlled the pace perfectly throughout the race,” said Christian Horner. explained.
“This was phenomenal and all credit to the Czech Republic. It’s clear that Max had a terrible weekend in many ways. In qualifying he was out of position for the race. He had anti-stall at the start. Worked. This brought him back to the herd even more.”
“There was a bit of a bump, but he was able to avoid a hit on that first lap and he was able to start making his way through the field.
“Then he had bad luck at the safety car when Lando[Norris]free stopped, otherwise he would have been behind the top five.”
“He did a great job on the restart. Unfortunately the tires didn’t have the temperature so the car bottomed out pretty hard when he pulled away and then he locked up.”
“It caused a massive flat spot so he had to pit again for a set of soft tyres, and he made a very impressive comeback.”
Category: F1 / red bull / F1 Singapore Grand Prix / Sergio Perez