Red Bull blames car damage for Sergio Perez’s failure to secure Australian GP win in dominant RB20 after Max Verstappen’s DNF

Sergio Perez had damage which was unknown to him throughout the race in the Australian Grand Prix.

Sergio Perez and Max Verstappen (via IMAGO)

The Australian Grand Prix showcased some pretty unfamiliar issues for the Red Bull team. Three-time world Champion Max Verstappen had a right-rear brake overheating issue that caused him to retire. Following that, all eyes were on teammate Sergio Perez to bring a good result back to the Milton-Keynes-based team.

Sergio Perez looked to be very quick up until he overtook Aston Martin driver Fernando Alonso midway through the race. But after that the driver and the RB20’s pace just seemed to vanish and fall- away as the Mexican didn’t make further progress. This was pretty unusual considering the RB20’s dominant nature. After the race, Christian Horner pointed out that the reason for the Mexican’s sudden pace drop off was due to damage he sustained while overtaking the Spaniard.

He’s probably not aware of it, but he picked up a bit of damage as soon as he got past Fernando. He lost a significant amount of downforce from the floor of the car. Then as soon as you get that then your tyre deg just gets worse and it was not good at the end of the stint. It’s been an unusual treat for our car so we need to understand that.

Christian Horner told SkySports F1.

Horner also added that this damage was something Perez himself wasn’t aware of but was causing him to lose grip, and downforce throughout parts of the track. The overall increased tire degradation in Albert Park also added to the number 11’s woes, leading him to just manage his race instead of pushing further ahead to catch the McLarens.

FS Video

?️| ?? Christian Horner reports damage on Checo's car:

“He’s probably not aware of it, but he picked up a bit of damage as soon as he got past Fernando. He lost a significant amount of downforce from the floor of the car. Then as soon as you get that then your tyre deg just gets… pic.twitter.com/WTzLDEDKvx
— RBR News ???? (@redbulletin) March 24, 2024

Keep exploring:WATCH: A huge puff of smoke comes out of Max Verstappen’s RB20 upon Australian GP retirement, video goes viral

Sergio Perez struggled with increased tire degradation at the Australian GP

The Australian GP saw a lot of increased tire degradation throughout the weekend. The race was no different with multiple drivers complaining about the increased tire wear. Red Bull driver Sergio Perez also faced the same issue.

Sergio Perez at the Italian Grand Prix — Sergio Perez (via Sky Sports F1)

After the Grand Prix concluded, the Mexican spoke about how the tire wear hurt his race today. He also added about how the setup that he and his team Red Bull went for may have enhanced this issue more throughout the race at Melbourne.

We had problems with the car that I can't go into detail about, but I think it hurt us a lot today. On the first stint we made some tweaks to the setup and we got a lot of tyre degradation at the back, then in the second stint it was all the other way around, with deg on the front.

Sergio Perez said.

Perez’s tire wear issues just seemed to add to the woes of the Red Bull team this weekend. With both the Red Bull being absent from the podium, only time will tell how the team responds to this disappointing weekend in Japan in a few weeks time.