F1 News: FIA slam Sergio Perez with Saudi Arabian Grand Prix PENALTY

Pérez during qualifying in Jeddah — Photo: © IMAGO

Saudi Arabian Grand Prix

FIA slam Red Bull F1 star with PENALTY at Saudi Arabian Grand Prix

The Mexican's race will be hampered following the incident

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Saturday 9 March 2024 18:43 Updated: 18:58

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Red Bull's Sergio Perez received a penalty at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix that hampered his progress in the race.

The Mexican was sat in third at the time, desperately trying to keep tabs with supreme team-mate Max Verstappen, as the Dutchman scampered into the distance.

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Perez was hit with a five second stop-and-go penalty for an unsafe release during his first pit stop in front of Fernando Alonso's Aston Martin, a stop that was part of a double stack by the Red Bull team during an early safety car.

In a separate incident, Kevin Magnussen was handed a 10-second time penalty for an incident involving Williams' Alex Albon as the race approached half distance, before being hit with another penalty.

Sergio Perez was handed a penalty during the race

Sergio Perez was trying to keep up with Max Verstappen

Perez's Red Bull misery

34-year-old Perez was attempting to gain an advantage in the stops by stopping under the safety car, with the team looking to put both him and Verstappen onto the same strategy.

However, the double stack led to Perez being put right into the path of Alonso, with the Spaniard telling his team over the radio that he was not pleased with Red Bull's actions.

Magnussen, in the meantime, was hit with a double whammy, having first been penalised for causing a collision with Albon, before being penalised for leaving the track and gaining an advantage in an earlier battle with RB's Yuki Tsunoda, getting hit with two 10-second penalties.