F1 rival labels Sergio Perez 'DESPERATE' after Japan antics

checo perez, sergio perez — Photo: © LAT Images

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F1 rival labels Perez 'DESPERATE' after Japan antics

The Mexican had a torrid time at the Japanese Grand Prix

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Sunday 24 September 2023 20:12

Kevin Magnussen has called the collision with Sergio Perez which affected his Japanese Grand Prix as a 'pretty desperate move', after the Mexican made a late lunge into the hairpin at Suzuka, damaging his Red Bull.

Perez was frantically trying to make up positions having fallen down to 18th place following contact with Lewis Hamilton, which left him needing to change his front wing.

The Red Bull car clearly had very strong race pace, as Max Verstappen was showing right at the front of the field, and Perez was trying to get himself back up into contention by dispatching traffic quickly.

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However, some of the cars proved to be tricky for the Mexican to get past, including Magnussen who was positioning his Haas car very well in order to defend from Perez.

Heading into turn 11, Perez was way too far back to make a pass on the Dane, but he attempted it anyway, leaving himself with more damage and needing yet another front wing change.

Now, Magnussen has had his say on the incident.

"I got hit on the rear tyre, it was a pretty desperate move," he told Haas' official X account.

"I got spun around, and then we had to pit - that was too early for the two-stop strategy with the tyre degradation that we have on our car."

More misery for Perez

Perez had to change his front wing twice during the Japanese GP

That move ruined Magnussen's race somewhat, and he was only able to bring his car home in 15th.

As for Perez, he retired from the race just a few laps later, in what was another disappointing afternoon.

In a strange turn of events, the team then actually decided to un-retire the car so that Perez could serve a five second penalty he had received for a separate incident, but he finally retired for a second time on lap 43.

His team-mate Verstappen, meanwhile, won his 13th race of the season Red Bull took home the 2023 constructors' championship, perhaps relieving a bit of the pressure on the Mexican.