Sergio Perez says he can be strong at any circuit this season given his improved performance across the last two Japanese Grand Prix weekends. Suzuka was towards the end of the 2023 calendar and Perez struggled in October, qualifying some 0.8s off …
Sergio Perez says he can be strong at any circuit this season given his improved performance across the last two Japanese Grand Prix weekends.
Suzuka was towards the end of the 2023 calendar and Perez struggled in October, qualifying some 0.8s off Max Verstappen in fifth place, and then retiring after multiple collisions. This time around, Perez was just 0.066s off his teammate in qualifying and comfortably finished second, and he sees the result as indicative of his potential for the entire season.
“I think we are in a good momentum,” Perez said. “I think if you remember here last year, it was probably my worst weekend. So I think if we are strong in places like this with a lot of high-speed content, medium-speed, I think we can be strong anywhere else. It’s been a good weekend.”
Perez looked able to stay relatively close to Verstappen for much of the first part of the race before fading from contention, and he says it was higher than expected tire degradation that compromised his chances of sticking with his teammate.
“With the start, doing that restart again is always quite hard to keep the focus for such a long period of time. It worked alright. My second start was a little bit better, but just not enough to get Max.
“I think we paid the price a little bit because we were a little bit off balance on that first stint, which meant we couldn’t keep it alive. We had to box and we were undercut by Lando [Norris]. And then I had to push too much on that medium stint. But then on the hard stint, I was a lot more comfortable, and the pace came back. But yeah, I think I suffered a bit from that first stint being a bit unbalanced.”
The struggles in the first stint were highlighted by a slight off-track moment at the second Degner corner, with Perez feeling he lost touch with Verstappen at that stage.
“It was quite a tricky corner. A lot of people went out there. I just went in over the curb and I was just hoping to don’t pick up any damage because it’s so easy with these floors to go off and have damage. As far as I know, we don’t have any. I just understeered wide and went over the curb.
“Once you are at the top of the curb, it’s game over. You just have to let the car roll, go over it, because it’s better to be over than on top of it. But I obviously picked up a lot of dirt on my tires, which took a lap or two to really clean up, and I lost a couple of seconds with that.”
Sergio Perez has been handed a three-place grid penalty for impeding Nico Hulkenberg in qualifying at the Australian Grand Prix. The incident occurred early in Q1, with the stewards opting to investigate it after the qualifying session had been …
Sergio Perez has been handed a three-place grid penalty for impeding Nico Hulkenberg in qualifying at the Australian Grand Prix.
The incident occurred early in Q1, with the stewards opting to investigate it after the qualifying session had been completed. Hulkenberg lost time on his first flying lap when he came across Perez in the final sector, and was eliminated in the first part of qualifying. Perez had originally qualified third, but will now start from sixth as a result of the penalty.
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“Hulkenberg was on a fast lap when he approached Turn 13,” the stewards’ decision read. “Perez, who was on an out lap was at the apex of the turn and Hulkenberg had to leave the racing line to drive around him. Hulkenberg was forced to lift the throttle early and brake early for that corner.
“In reviewing the audio from Perez’s car, the stewards observed that the team was focused on the car in front of Perez that had just slowed, and did not give Perez a warning that Hulkenberg was behind him until one second before Hulkenberg arrived, and significantly too late to avoid impeding Hulkenberg.
“While the stewards appreciate the dynamic situation facing the team and driver during the Q1 session, which was described in the hearing, the Stewards find that Perez ‘unnecessarily impeded’ Hulkenberg and issue a three grid place drop, consistent with previous cases.”
The penalty promotes Lando Norris to third on the grid for Sunday’s race at Albert Park, with Charles Leclerc now starting from fourth and Oscar Piastri fifth.
Charles Leclerc says Ferrari will start fine-tuning its car on the final day of pre-season testing in Bahrain after the team set the pace on day two. Ferrari teammate Carlos Sainz went below the 1m30s mark on Thursday afternoon to lead Red Bull’s …
Charles Leclerc says Ferrari will start fine-tuning its car on the final day of pre-season testing in Bahrain after the team set the pace on day two.
Ferrari teammate Carlos Sainz went below the 1m30s mark on Thursday afternoon to lead Red Bull’s Sergio Perez by three quarters of a second, with Leclerc having also been quickest in the morning session. The Monegasque says he was able to complete his run plan by staying in the car for an extra spell after an early lunch break, and believes Ferrari is making good progress with its car.
“All the answers [were achieved] because at the end we went through all our program, which is a good thing,” Leclerc said. “We have done big changes on the car and that’s what we were focusing on for these first two days. Tomorrow we will go and fine-tune a little bit more and go into the details.
“The first two days went well; however, let’s be careful because saying that the first two days went well doesn’t mean anything in terms of competitiveness, so we need to wait and see for that. My initial feeling is Red Bull remains the reference and ahead for now.”
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Despite conforming with the general paddock consensus that Red Bull has maintained its advantage, Leclerc also believes the test won’t show the full potential from any team.
“I think the first performance runs we’ll be seeing is in qualifying next week,” he said, “but yeah, every day you are trying to get a little bit more out of the car. Tomorrow is the last day, so hopefully center the car a bit more in terms of setup to where we think it’s the best and we’ll fine-tune it in order to be ready for next week.”
Sergio Perez reckons rivals are over-estimating the performance advantage of his Red Bull RB20 but admits the full picture has yet to come into focus. Sam Bloxham/Motorsport Images
From a Red Bull perspective, Perez insists the gaps are smaller than rivals are claiming, but believes a clearer picture will emerge on the final day of running.
“I don’t really think that we’ve had much of a look in that regard,” Perez said. “I believe that things are a lot closer than we are thinking, definitely, but at the moment we’re basically focusing on our job, we’ve been so busy with our program. Tomorrow there will be a bit more of an idea, but I think we will find out next Sunday.”
Sergio Perez says Christian Horner “is a key player” in Red Bull’s success amid speculation regarding the team principal’s future. Red Bull GmbH – the global company that owns Red Bull Racing – has commissioned an independent investigation after …
Sergio Perez says Christian Horner “is a key player” in Red Bull’s success amid speculation regarding the team principal’s future.
Red Bull GmbH — the global company that owns Red Bull Racing — has commissioned an independent investigation after allegations of inappropriate behavior from Horner within the team. Horner reiterated his denial of the allegations, telling British newspapers, “I’m confident in [my innocence]. If I wasn’t I wouldn’t be here,” during the RB20 launch, and Perez wants the team to help maintain continuity.
“Well, I think we just want to go racing,” Perez said. “We want the whole team to stay together because we’ve been so successful, and he will be able to just keep the whole team together and focus on racing.
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“Obviously there are some things out there, but the most important is we stick together as a team. We work well, and the main goal [is] remembering we are here for racing — we are a race team and we love it… and we know that Christian is a key player in our organization.
“Like I say, it’s important all of us focus on what we’re here to do, and what we’re here to do is to win championships and bring the team as forward as possible and that has to be the target for all of us in this organization.”
Horner insisted he will be in Bahrain for the pre-season test and first race despite the ongoing investigation, while also outlining his achievements in charge of Red Bull.
“I’m absolutely committed to this team,” Horner said. “I’ve been here since the beginning. I’ve built this team. There have been highs and lows along the way. We have won 113 races, seven drivers’ world championships, six constructors’ world championships, in 19 seasons. And you know, that’s in the history books now but it’s what lies ahead that’s important. So my focus is on the future.”
It says a lot about the driver market this year that the most interesting aspect of it was the movement between performance coaches and those that support the drivers themselves. Max Verstappen’s trainer Bradley Scanes left his role, leading Carlos …
It says a lot about the driver market this year that the most interesting aspect of it was the movement between performance coaches and those that support the drivers themselves.
Max Verstappen’s trainer Bradley Scanes left his role, leading Carlos Sainz’s performance coach Rupert Manwaring to make the switch to work with the three-time world champion. And Yuki Tsunoda is also in need of a new partner after Michael Italiano departed for a major opportunity in cricket.
Once Logan Sargeant was finally confirmed at Williams for a second consecutive year, the least active driver market in history was complete as not a single seat changed between the end of the 2023 season and the start of 2024.
And it’s not like there was huge movement mid-year, either, with only Daniel Ricciardo’s return to AlphaTauri in place of Nyck de Vries preventing identical lineups from race one of the season just gone to the next.
But you’ve probably heard the saying “The calm before the storm” and that’s just where the driver market is right now.
The end of 2024 offers a huge amount of possibilities, and many of them are playing a role in keeping other opportunities open.
Even with some high-profile contract extensions being announced over the past 12 months, three quarters of the grid have deals that expire at the end of the coming season.
The easiest way of kicking this off is by outlining who are the drivers who are currently under contract for more than the next year (even if there might be options involved that could negate that if needed).
Unsurprisingly, Max Verstappen has the longest deal at Red Bull that runs until 2028, while it’s Oscar Piastri who is most secure behind him with a deal that was announced as up to the end of 2026.
Then for the remaining three drivers — Piastri’s teammate Lando Norris and the Mercedes pair of Lewis Hamilton and George Russell — 2025 is the end point of their current agreements, leaving them with the potential ability to make a move in time for the new regulations that will be introduced the following year.
So the most sought-after name that could be available at the end of 2024 is Charles Leclerc, as both Ferrari drivers have yet to agree to new deals.
Team principal Fred Vasseur had stated that he wanted to have the two drivers’ respective futures tied up prior to the end of the year in order to have clarity heading into ’24, but that’s a target that he admits has been missed, with the revised goal of the start of the new season being set.
And it’s not strange to see why. Given the fact that so many drivers are available at the end of next year — but also three big names currently hitting the market at the end of the following season — there are options not just for the Ferrari drivers but for the team too. Vasseur needs to keep the situation positive at Maranello, but it would be remiss of him to ignore the potential candidates that might be available over the coming years.
That then plays a part in the type of contract that will be discussed. It’s not hard to imagine Ferrari wants to lock Leclerc down longer-term given the way he was brought through the ranks, but Sainz might find himself offered a deal that includes an option at the end of 2025 in case of significant movement.
Spin that around to the drivers’ perspective, and Sainz is likely to want a more solid commitment — but both he and Leclerc are also going to have an eye on the 2026 regulations.
F1 stars have to make career moves based on current form and trends…which can be risky heading into a new rules cycle. Mark Sutton/Motorsport Images
It’s always so tough to judge which teams will get it right when there is a major change in both aerodynamics and power unit technology, and the decision to prevent teams doing work on the new cars years in advance only shortens the window to gain such an impression. So having a contract that expires one year after the new regulations are introduced — and therefore a full competitive picture will have been seen — might be the smartest play.
That’s true of all the drivers, of course, rather than just the Ferrari pair, but with so many available at the end of next year there’s likely to be one or two who are more willing to commit longer-term if offered the chance, or take a shorter deal if it secures them a more competitive seat than they currently have.
The way this year played out, there were few contracts that needed resolving and therefore few potential moves that could happen. That leant itself to drivers and teams sticking with what they had, because the alternative options were few and far between.
That’s not the case in 12 months’ time and even those with longer deals are aware of it, with McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown believing Red Bull, Mercedes and Ferrari will all be assessing options, including showing an interest in Norris.
“I would say next priority — a lot of priorities — but certainly Lando we’ve got some time with; but he is a driver that everybody up and down pit lane want,” Brown says. “How much longer is Lewis going? What’s Mercedes going to do? How much longer is Sergio [Perez] going? So for sure, I think the three other big teams probably don’t have visibility as to their driver lineup beyond ’25, and I think with how Lando has performed, he would be top of everyone’s list.”
While Norris is certainly going to be a target for many teams unless he signs a new deal, the number of others available means teams will be working on a Plan A through to Plan F at least.
There’s definitely a lot of scope for the majority of drivers to stay exactly where they are at the end of next season, too, but until somebody gets the ball rolling and either cements their current position or commits to a move elsewhere, teams are unlikely to want to fully commit and take themselves out of the picture.
And it might be 2025 when most seats become available, but as Brown adds, teams are going to want to get their business done “sooner rather than later” given the permutations: “I think the market is already going!”
Lando Norris says it was impressive that Sergio Perez hit him in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix despite leaving what he felt was excessive space for the Red Bull. Perez was trying to overtake Norris for fourth place into Turn 6 but was fighting the car …
Lando Norris says it was impressive that Sergio Perez hit him in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix despite leaving what he felt was excessive space for the Red Bull.
Perez was trying to overtake Norris for fourth place into Turn 6 but was fighting the car and understeered wide, hitting Norris on his outside. The wheel-to-wheel contact saw Perez handed a five-second penalty that later led to him branding the stewards “a joke” – a comment that earned him a warning – but Norris was surprised to be hit after giving up the corner.
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“He was ahead, I tried to let him past, I was like four car lengths away from the apex, and somehow he still crashed into me,” Norris said. “Impressive. I don’t know, I literally tried to let him past and somehow he crashed into me.”
Perez was able to pass Norris cleanly a lap later and the incident didn’t cost McLaren any further, as Oscar Piastri backed up his teammate in sixth place to secure fourth in the constructors’ championship. But with Charles Leclerc and George Russell edging away throughout the race, Norris missed out on fourth in the drivers’ standings and admits he had expected to be more competitive in race trim.
“I think the places we were struggling were clear, just the very slow speed corners – Turn 5, Turn 6 and 7, and 12/13/14, the places we know we’re not strong enough, which is the very slow speed. We were expecting a little bit more, with the cooler temperatures, we were expecting the race pace to be a little bit stronger than we had.
“We were definitely missing something but because of the lack of pace I had to push very hard to keep up with the Mercedes and Ferrari and when I did that I destroyed the tires very quickly. So I was in a tough battle to win, but I did what I could. Not quite enough, but we finished ahead of Aston which was my main target.
“In the back of your head, would I love to be fourth? Yes. Charles jumped me, so nothing I could do about that, he had a very good weekend. But no, if you’re not first you’re last, so it doesn’t bother me too much.
“It’s just a good to have thing but doesn’t change my mentality in any way. So respect to those guys ahead of me and everyone, but the main thing was the team, priority in the end, it’s first or nothing for me.”
Sergio Perez has been given a formal warning for calling the stewards “a joke” for penalizing him in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. The Mexican collided with Lando Norris at Turn 6 and was given a 5s time penalty, with the stewards deciding that he …
Sergio Perez has been given a formal warning for calling the stewards “a joke” for penalizing him in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
The Mexican collided with Lando Norris at Turn 6 and was given a 5s time penalty, with the stewards deciding that he “dived in late, missed the apex of the corner and understeered towards the outside of the corner.” Perez went on to finish second on the road after Charles Leclerc slowed to let him past, but was demoted to fourth by the penalty and showed his anger on team radio after the checkered flag.
“The stewards are a joke, man,” Perez said. “I cannot believe [it]. They have been very bad this year, but this is a joke. That was really a joke.”
Perez was summoned for his comments as they amounted to misconduct towards officials, with the stewards then giving him a formal warning having acknowledged the conflicting position they found themselves in when ruling on the outburst.
“The stewards explained to the driver that they had no issue with someone disagreeing with their decisions, however comments that amount to personal insults are a breach of the International Sporting Code,” the decision read.
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“The stewards note that they are obviously conflicted in this matter as they were the subject of the radio statements and that normally this would be referred to the next panel of stewards, however, as this is the final event of the season, the matter needed to be dealt with here.
“The driver made a genuine and sincere apology to each of the stewards and explained that he made the comments in the heat of the moment and did not consider the fact that they would be broadcast, and the impact of that. He expressed his regret that his comments caused offence to anyone or harm to the sport, which he said he was concerned to avoid. The stewards accept his statements and accept his apology.
“The stewards also note that the driver is not known for making such comments and has always been extremely respectful in stewards hearings. He was also reminded that the stewards are always available to explain their decisions when requested by a driver or team representative.
“The driver, team manager and the stewards had a constructive discussion about the use and broadcast of team radio messages. The incident itself was also reviewed in detail with the driver and, although he still disagreed with the decision, he stated he could understand the stewards’ perspective of the incident.”
Perez now has seven penalty points on his license for the 12-month period as a result of his latest penalty.
Charles Leclerc says he was keen to give Sergio Perez DRS to try and pull five seconds clear of George Russell at the end of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix to snatch second place in the constructors’ championship for Ferrari. Perez was given a five-second …
Charles Leclerc says he was keen to give Sergio Perez DRS to try and pull five seconds clear of George Russell at the end of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix to snatch second place in the constructors’ championship for Ferrari.
Perez was given a five-second time penalty for causing a collision with Lando Norris, that meant when he overtook Russell in the closing stages he needed to extend the gap quickly to be classified ahead of the Mercedes and take points away that would have moved Ferrari up a position in the standings. Knowing this, Leclerc tried to help Perez’s cause but in the end Russell was classified 1.1s ahead of the Red Bull to defend the position.
“Of course very disappointed with that third place in the constructors’ as that was my only target since two or three races ago,” Leclerc said. “It was until the very fast lap — I tried to give Checo the DRS for him to try and pull five seconds away from George but that didn’t quite work out.
“Quite a few laps before — as soon as I was aware of the five-second penalty, basically — then I was constantly asking for the gap between George and Checo. They told me that Checo had passed George, so I knew that Checo was behind me and his best chance was obviously to get the DRS from me and try to pull away as much as possible from George.
“There was quite a bit of discussion between my engineer and myself and I let him know as well that this was my plan, but it didn’t work out.”
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While Leclerc felt Ferrari was more competitive than he expected during the race, he says his early battles with Max Verstappen were never likely to result in him being able to fight for victory.
While “nice” Leclerc’s early battle with Verstappen didn’t amount to much in the end. Simon Galloway/Motorsport Images
“Yeah it was nice. On the other hand I obviously had the constructors’ championship in my mind so I couldn’t take too many risks, but I saw an opportunity,” he said. “I saw that Max was looking in his mirrors — or I was expecting him to look in the mirrors — so I made him think that I was going to the right then I went to the left.
“Then I tried also in Turn 9 but I knew that it was important for me to take care of those tires and even in the first lap, everything is so sensitive here that if you push too much then this can have a huge consequence on the rest of your run.
“So at one point I just decided to settle for the second place. Anyway, if we had got that first place I don’t think we would have kept that for long.”
Sergio Perez believes he’s operating at the level Red Bull needs him to and that a return to the podium is just a matter of time. The Mexican came under pressure after a number of disappointing results enabled Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton to close in …
Sergio Perez believes he’s operating at the level Red Bull needs him to and that a return to the podium is just a matter of time.
The Mexican came under pressure after a number of disappointing results enabled Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton to close in for second place in the drivers’ championship standings. But after meetings at Red Bull’s headquarters ahead of the United States Grand Prix, Perez delivered improved performances in Mexico and Brazil despite having no trophies to show for it.
“I think the pace has been here for the past few weekends, but for one reason or another we haven’t been able to put it together,” Perez said. “I think it’s just a matter of time before it will come, but it (Sao Paulo) was a good weekend for the championship, because we’re getting closer to that second place. I believe it’s just a matter of time before we show what we’ve got.
“I think after Qatar, when I went back to the factory, we understood a lot of things that we were doing wrong. Austin, it was just we compromised the weekend a bit, but since then, Mexico was quite good — I mean, I went off but I was very close to the lead — so, all in all, we’re making good progress.”
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Team principal Christian Horner agreed Perez showed the performance level that was expected of him in Brazil even though he lost out to Fernando Alonso in a thrilling late-race battle for third place.
“I think it was important for his confidence,” Horner said. “That was the Checo that we know what he’s capable of, and that will give him just the boost he needs going to another street track — that he’s always performed well on — in Vegas, and then Abu Dhabi one week after.
“I thought he drove brilliantly well (in Brazil). He had a little bit of a wobble at Turn 2 that allowed Fernando to have a little bit of a go at him. He did his best to hang on to it, but for Checo to outscore Lewis by 12 points has been a very strong weekend for him. Third (in the sprint), fourth from ninth on the grid due to the yellow flag he got in qualifying has been very good points for him.”
Max Verstappen says he would have a good relationship with either Sergio Perez or Daniel Ricciardo at Red Bull and feels it’s unfair to be asked who is his preferred teammate. Ricciardo left Red Bull in 2018 to join Renault, but after a tough stint …
Max Verstappen says he would have a good relationship with either Sergio Perez or Daniel Ricciardo at Red Bull and feels it’s unfair to be asked who is his preferred teammate.
Ricciardo left Red Bull in 2018 to join Renault, but after a tough stint at McLaren is back at AlphaTauri and impressed in Mexico as he tries to prove he is worthy of a return to the senior team. Perez is under contract for 2024 but is coming under increasing pressure after failing to make Q3 multiple times this season and is currently on a run of five races without a podium, but Verstappen says he wouldn’t choose between the pair.
“I always had a great relationship with Daniel when we were teammates, and when of course we weren’t,” Verstappen said. “At the same time also I have a great relationship with Checo so I find it a bit unfair to now sit here and say who I would prefer as a teammate or whatever.
“They have been great teammates and it’s not up to me at the end of the day to make these kind of decisions because I’m very focused on my own performance.
“So if it’s Checo next year then great — I have a great working relationship with him but also personally I think he is a great guy. If it’s Daniel we also have a great relationship and we will get on fine. F1 can be a tough sport and you are asking these kind of questions, but also maybe nothing happens, right? We’ll see.”
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A year ago at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix, Verstappen refused a team request to help Perez try and finish second in the drivers’ championship. With a similar picture in the standings this season, Verstappen suggests he wouldn’t necessarily accept such an order this time around either.
“Good question. I think at the end of the day it shouldn’t always matter on me to get the points. I’m confident in Checo that he can stay ahead because I do think on average we have the faster car, and I think also last year it wasn’t well spoken about before we got into the race weekend. But let’s just hope we don’t get into that situation — I think it’s better for everyone.”
With Perez under contract, Ricciardo says he hasn’t had any discussions with Red Bull about a potential return to the team in future.
“I haven’t. Obviously all the stuff around my contract next year has been related to AlphaTauri. So yeah, I can say that honestly that’s as far as that goes.
“For me personally, having a weekend like Mexico is definitely good for the soul and also for the team. I haven’t been here long, but for them to be 10th in the constructors’ and then jump two places in the space of two weekends was huge, so I think that creates a very happy atmosphere around everyone. Kinda happy doing that and try to just keep charging on where I am.”
