An unprecedented blunder by Sergio Pérez: the Mexican driver started the sprint race in Qatar from the pit lane, but then botched his actual start. Pérez waited agonizingly long after the green light before he drove onto the track. Franco Colapinto, who also started from the pit lane, had less patience and immediately overtook the Red Bull driver. What was Checo doing?
Sergio Pérez explained afterwards that his long wait was intentional. He wanted to create distance from the rest of the cars to have a clear track and be able to properly test the RB20. With only nineteen laps on the schedule, the sprint race already offered few chances for points for the Red Bull driver.
“I wanted to let a gap fall with the cars in front so I could drive in clean air,” Pérez explained to the media in Qatar. For the 34-year-old driver, it was clear that he would not be competing for points during the Saturday event at the Lusail International Circuit. “We were already standing still in the pit lane for almost five minutes – I had zero temperature in my tires,” he explained. “It was important to have a clear track, because we wanted to use this session to see where we stand exactly.
Test Subject
Sergio Pérez, who spent the rest of the afternoon in Qatar acting as a test subject, concluded that the issues with the RB20 had not yet been resolved. Later in the session, he even came in for a new front wing – all in an effort to find the ideal setup and fix the control problems. “The balance is still not right,” said the Mexican. “The car has not really improved. We will have to make some adjustments for the rest of the weekend. We do have stability when steering, but in fast corners, we lose all grip.”
Red Bull team boss Christian Horner was visibly disappointed with Pérez’s mistake. “When the lights turn green, you have to drive,” he responded dryly. “It’s no surprise that Colapinto overtook him.” During the qualifying for the regular Grand Prix, Pérez did eventually reach Q3, but he did not get further than the ninth starting position.
