F1 News: Fans Tear Sergio Perez Apart After Poor Japanese GP Performance

Fans have been taking Sergio Perez to task on social media platform X, with some even calling him a "liability" after his "poor" roller coaster Japanese GP performance that saw him retire not once but twice!

His problems began in the opening lap when the front wing of his RB19 received considerable damage after contact with Lewis Hamilton, thus forcing him to make an unscheduled pit stop for a front wing replacement.

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While entering the pit lane, the Mexican driver then received a five-second penalty for a Safety Car infringement. Perez now had an uphill task before himself to get back into the race to avoid a DNF.

After undergoing repairs, Perez headed back onto the track but his determination to control the damage was put to an end by another unfortunate incident in a tricky situation with Kevin Magnussen. He made contact with the Haas driver, at turn 9 which caused further damage to the RB19.

The collision necessitated another pit stop for Perez to replace the damaged nose as the car was clearly struggling. The team then ordered him to retire the car, suggesting that it was game over. However, despite being classed as a DNF, he was sent back onto the track on lap 40 to serve his five-second penalty to prevent it from being carried over to Qatar.

After serving his penalty, he was ordered to retire again on lap 43. Sadly though, the series of events at Suzuka has led caused fans to lash out at the 33-year-old racer. Here's a post from a British racing driver and reactions to his tweet suggest that fans expect Perez to be way better than what he displayed today.

Perez is an absolute liability on track. Constantly making clumsy moves. Slow. Always having to “come back” from poor qualifying etc.

What up-sides is he providing aside from making Verstappen look better?#F1 #Perez
— Brad Philpot 🏎🏁 (@BradleyPhilpot) September 24, 2023

I thought his Monaco drive was bad but jeepers this was horrendous
— zwkJT🏎️ (@zwkJT) September 24, 2023

Poor Red Bull. At this rate, they'll be going over the cost cap again because of the amount of front wings Perez is chewing through.
— Scribbling Brit 🏁 (@scribblingbrit) September 24, 2023

He's not having a great time, but his confidence will be shot with the attitude that the higher ups are presenting to the public, what will it be like behind closed doors..?

I shudder to think.
— Pebsy ⭐x6 (@meeseeka) September 24, 2023

The Japanese GP saw five drivers end up with a DNF including Perez. On the bright side for Red Bull, Max Verstappen won the race and Red Bull earned its Constructor's title at their power unit's home race.