Red Bull Racing driver Sergio Perez left the Qatar Grand Prix having missed another two opportunities to score some much-needed points.
The Sprint Race at the Qatar Grand Prix was a disaster from start to finish for Sergio Perez.
He failed to advance past Q1 and then bizarrely was overtaken by Franco Colapinto heading out of the pit lane.
Team principal Christian Horner couldn’t explain Perez’s mistake, but things looked much brighter heading into Sunday’s race.
He reached the top-10 shootout for the Grand Prix and while he was nearly a second off the fastest time set in that session by teammate Max Verstappen, Perez had at least used the laps he drove at the back of the grid in the Sprint Race to give Red Bull some vital information about their cars.
Perez then benefitted from several penalties handed out around him and likes of Lewis Hamilton struggling, running in fifth when the second safety car went out.
Unfortunately, that’s where Perez’s weekend ended and speaking on Formula 1’s post-race show, Jolyon Palmer was left very confused by the incident in question.
Jolyon Palmer laments ‘silly’ Sergio Perez retirement from the Qatar Grand Prix
Palmer was asked about Perez’s exit from the race and said: “It looked like driver error from Checo.
“It looked like cold tyres, hard tyres, loads of steering lock and you just heard a spike of wheelspin.
“Checo said there was a loss of power, but then he finds a bit to try and get going again.
“He does then stop, so it’s a bit confusing as to what actually caused the retirement because he should be able to get back in the race from there.
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“So, somewhere there is an issue. Did it cause the spin or was it just again another driver lacking concentration?
“I wonder if it’s the physicality of this race is also not helping with plenty of drivers making sort of silly mistakes.
“Lando’s yellow flag, Lewis’s pit lane speed limit, if that is just Checo on the gas which it looks like, there’s another one that’s silly from experienced drivers.”
Sergio Perez hanging onto Formula 1 future by a thread ahead of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
Perez’s retirement was bizarre, appearing to burn out his clutch as he prepared for the race to restart.
It initially looked like he was clipped from behind the way his car spun, but on closer inspection, no one was close enough to him to have had any impact on how he was driving.
Although Perez got his car going again, he was forced to stop before reaching the main straight and looked dejected as he walked away from his stranded Red Bull.
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Perez and Red Bull are expected to part ways after the race in Abu Dhabi, with a meeting being held with the team’s stakeholders on Monday to decide his future.
Christian Horner and Helmut Marko are leaning towards promoting Yuki Tsunoda, although it wouldn’t be a surprise if his RB teammate Liam Lawson got the call-up.
Neither driver has stood out recently to force Red Bull’s hand, while Daniel Ricciardo was dropped as he was no longer considered a viable option to step up in Perez’s place.
Red Bull have left themselves in a tricky position and while it is admirable that they’ve given Perez every chance possible to turn his poor form around, his retirement in Qatar may end up being the final nail in the coffin.
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