Sergio Perez Disobeying Red Bull At Austrian GP Led To Mercedes Crash
Red Bull once again saw gravel from the wrong side of the track as Sergio Perez and George Russell hit each other on the very first lap of the Austrian Grand Prix. Not only was the Mexican driver pushed to the back of the field, but he also sustained damage which ultimately pushed the team to retire him and his car.
Russell on the other hand, managed to push himself up the field and come P4 behind his Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton.
Fans were disappointed to see Perez lose out on points that weekend after what was looking to be a great comeback for the driver after a disappointing Saturday. But now it turns out that Red Bull is placing a lot of the blame on Checo:
“We told him before the start not to go outside in that corner, that it was not going to be possible. It was an unnecessary risk. We have already seen it in the past, and it does not work,” said Red Bull adviser Helmut Marko.
Last year, Perez saw the same thing happen between himself and Lando Norris, which again ruined his changes of getting a podium. The year before that, Alex Albon and Lewis Hamilton did exactly the same thing. So, with it being a known risk, it’s no surprise that Red Bull warned its drivers of this.
“After the touch, there was too much damage on the ground and they would have lapped Checo twice, so there was no point in continuing to run,” Marko continued.
“We prioritized saving mileage. But it does seem that the Mercedes do not like that we go on the outside in the 4. It was very similar to the Lewis and Albon accident.”
Hopefully Checo will give more priority to the warnings from his team going forward, especially as we’d love to see him pick up more podiums.
