F1 News: Sergio Perez Under Fire From Red Bull After "Stupid Mistake"
In a moment of high drama during the Monaco Grand Prix qualifying, Sergio Perez found himself on the receiving end of some sharp criticism from Helmut Marko. Marko expressed his discontent after the Mexican, in a bid to secure pole position and reaffirm his status as Red Bull's street racing champ, lost control of his vehicle, slamming into the barriers.
Eight minutes into Q1, Perez approached Sainte Devote carrying too much speed, causing him to lose control and slide into the barriers. The crash led to significant damage to the rear left of his RB19, including a substantial chunk of his sidepods. It was immediately clear that his qualifying attempt was over.
Marko, visibly unimpressed, pulled no punches in his critique. Speaking to Sky Deutschland, he directed his comments at Sergio, stating:
“If you have a car like that, then you shouldn’t be thrown out in Q1. That was a stupid mistake on his part. Maybe he was thinking too much about the World Championship.”
Perez's accident could prove to be detrimental to his championship ambitions, with his teammate Max Verstappen already 14 points ahead of him. Starting in P20, on the tight Monaco tarmac, could leave Perez with no points this weekend.
Red Bull team boss Christian Horner sought to explain the cause of Perez's costly mistake, defending his driver:
“I can only think he was distracted by the Alpine on the right-hand side because he just misjudged that first turn and the circuit was only going to get faster and faster,” he explained.
Reflecting on the incident, a contrite Perez admitted his error.
“Unbelievable day. I cannot believe what I've done,” expressed the 33-year-old. “It just caught me by surprise, just getting that rear out of shape, especially really late into the corner."
With a grim outlook for the race, Perez acknowledged:
"I'm super disappointed today with myself and I know that tomorrow it's going to be an impossible race.”