Sergio Perez (Red Bull Racing) took second place on the podium at the 2022 F1 Round 8 Azerbaijan Grand Prix. At the beginning of the race, he recalled that it was “correct” that the team ordered “Don’t fight” with Max Verstappen.
Sergio Perez has outqualified Red Bull Racing teammate Max Verstappen for two consecutive races, starting on the second grid in front of him on the Azerbaijan grid and having the chance to win in a row after winning in Monaco. there were.
Sergio Perez was blasted at the start with “put out his elbows”, and Charles Leclerc (Ferrari), who started from pole position, locked the tires on turn 1 and led without missing a chance to run wide. Robbed.
However, when Charles Leclerc made a pit stop in the early virtual safety car and became Red Bull Racing’s 1-2 regime, Pitwall instructed the driver to “don’t fight.”
After the restart, Max Verstappen had a faster pace, and Sergio Perez gave up the lead with the door open on lap 14. Red Bull Racing then made a pit stop, Charles Leclerc regained the lead and Verstappen remained in front of Perez.
On lap 21, Charles Leclerc’s engine broke down and Ferrari’s race ended, Max Verstappen was able to cruise for victory, and Sergio Perez was second, much faster than George Russell in Mercedes F1. Finished with.
Sergio Perez, who told the media at the parc ferme after the race, claimed he was not dissatisfied with the team strategy at the expense of his chances of winning.
“I think it was the right call for the team,” Sergio Perez emphasized.
“At that time, Max was a little ahead. It was a good team result.”
“I don’t know what’s going to happen here and in the end we got 1-2. It’s a great team result.”
Sergio Perez revealed that he missed the chance to change tires in the virtual safety car at the same time as Charles Leclerc due to the loss of communication with the team at a critical moment.
“Unfortunately, I missed the stop of the virtual safety car,” said Sergio Perez.
“There were some miscommunication. It was a little too late when I wanted to stop again.”
“I was a little unlucky because it should have made up our race when I was in the lead. I stayed with myself on the subsequent restarts.”
“I think the tire degradation was very high on that medium tire. Certainly Max was much stronger today, so we need to understand what happened there.”
“So there are a lot of things that need to be reviewed today. Still, it was a very good team result.”
Sergio Perez was comforted to earn at least the fastest lap bonus points, as Max Verstappen didn’t have enough time to make an additional pit stop for the last fresh tires.
Sergio Perez has risen to second place in the Drivers’ Championship. He has scored 129 points in the first eight races of the season, 21 points behind Max Verstappen and 13 points behind Charles Leclerc. Red Bull Racing has expanded its lead to Ferrari in the Constructors’ Championship to 80 points.
Category: Category: F1 / Sergio Perez / Red bull / F1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix