Sergio Perez couldn’t escape his rut at the Canadian Grand Prix last weekend. After another miserable qualifying, Perez suffered a second consecutive DNF.
Just like in Monaco at the end of last month, the Mexican was knocked out in Q1. While Red Bull struggled in the principality, with Max Verstappen only sixth after sweeping the first seven poles of the season, there was no such excuse in Canada.
Indeed, Verstappen went on to match the pole time set by George Russell in Q3. The only reason he didn’t start on pole was that Russell crossed the line first.
Still, Perez had the opportunity to mount a recovery in the race. The wet weather and the chaos that typically comes with it improved his chances.
But the 34-year-old was largely anonymous until he made what Lando Norris called a Sebastian Vettel-esque error at turn six. Perez slid backwards into the barrier and broke his wear ring, forcing him to retire.
While he widely escaped blame for his race-ending tangle with Kevin Magnussen in Monaco, this was a case of pure driver error. He’s now scored just four points in the last three races, slipping 87 points and four places behind his teammate in the championship.
Max Verstappen shares what he thought after Sergio Perez crash
Speaking in the post-race press conference, Verstappen addressed the latest tale of woe for Perez. He feels the odds were stacked against him after qualifying.
And when he saw that the former McLaren driver had crashed out, he knew he had to deliver a ‘big’ haul of points to limit the damage to Red Bull in the constructors’ championship. Fortunately for Christian Horner’s team, Ferrari endured a wretched day themselves as both drivers retired.
Thanks to race-winner Verstappen, they extended their advantage over the Scuderia to 49 points. McLaren were the big winners of the weekend as Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri combined for 28.
Verstappen said: “Yeah, I mean, of course, I think the damage was done yesterday, of course, for Checo. You know, starting in the back, it’s very hard in these conditions.
“Then, of course, I saw him retire with the damage. So I knew that I had to score big, of course, to not let the other teams catch up a lot.”
Jacques Villeneuve says Perez can’t control Red Bull car after Canadian Grand Prix
Last year, when Perez began to fall further away from Verstappen, he had the luxury of a greater cushion. The RB19 was the most dominant car in F1 history, at least in the hands of the Dutchman.
But now Ferrari, McLaren and, most recently, Mercedes have closed up. Under greater pressure, Red Bull are starting to show signs of weakness, with both drivers complaining of handling difficulties.
1997 F1 world champion Jacques Villeneuve says Perez ‘cannot get a handle’ on the tricky RB20. And while he may ultimately finish closer to Verstappen than he did last year (when the gap was a record 290 points), he could still fall a good few places from second.
All of this draws into question the decision to hand him a new two-year contract. BBC Sport’s Andrew Benson says Red Bull have gone against ‘everything they said over the winter’ about their expectations for this season.
The post ‘The damage was done’: Max Verstappen gives his verdict on Sergio Perez’s ‘very hard’ Canadian GP appeared first on F1 Oversteer.