Sergio Perez continues his abysmal run, blames the interminable red flag for his Q1 exit at the British GP

Sergio Perez has failed to make it into Q3 for the fifth race in a row.

Sergio Perez continues his abysmal run, blames the interminable red flag for his Q1 exit at the British GP

Sergio Perez (left, image via: Racing News 365) and Red flag being waved in Silverstone (right, image via: Racefans.net)

Sergio Perez‘s aspirations of challenging his Red Bull teammate, Max Verstappen, for this year’s championship, have been met with frustration and disappointment. Despite his early-season confidence, the Mexican driver has fallen short, failing to advance to Q3 in five consecutive races. And this time, Sergio Perez blames the race control for the extended standstill during the red flag.

The qualifying session for the British Grand Prix commenced with electrifying intensity, as drivers wasted no time pushing the limits under challenging conditions. Lap after lap, they relentlessly chased faster times. However, the excitement was abruptly halted when Kevin Magnussen encountered a mechanical issue, leaving his car powerless and forcing a red flag stoppage.

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Max Verstappen took the pole in the dying moments and gave Red Bull their ninth pole of the season. Speaking about his disappointing qualifying session, Perez expressed his frustration, stating, “I think the red flag lasted a lot longer than we initially thought. Then I couldn’t get enough temperature in the tyres.” The Mexican added, “I have been struggling in these conditions lately, and my team now need to understand why this is happening and improve.”

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Sergio Perez makes it five races in a row of missing out on a Q3 appearance

Sergio Perez
Sergio Perez (Credits: talkSPORT)

As the red flags flew, Perez had just donned a fresh set of slick tires. However, his momentum was disrupted as he retreated to the pits. With the looming threat of rain, Perez found himself stranded at the pitlane exit, waiting anxiously for minutes to elapse. This delay in getting back on track likely compromised his tire temperature, a critical factor in achieving optimal performance.

Perez managed to set the provisional pole time early on, but as the qualifying session progressed, his rivals began to unleash faster laps one after another. With each passing moment, the track started drying out, gradually pushing Perez out of contention and ultimately relegating him to an early exit from Q1.

This latest qualifying setback extends Perez’s streak of failing to reach Q3 to five races. The last time he started inside the top 10 was over two months ago when he claimed the pole position in Miami. Throughout the season, Perez has only managed to make it into Q3 on four occasions, experiencing early qualifying exits in Australia, Monaco, Spain, Canada, Austria, and now Silverstone. 

Meanwhile, Verstappen has been dominant, clinching pole position and winning all five of those races, leaving Perez with just a sole podium finish at the Austrian Grand Prix. Starting a lowly sixteenth, the Mexican has a mammoth task tomorrow to salvage his race. He is now 81 points behind the defending champion and will surely be challenged for the runner-up spot by Fernando Alonso. 

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