Sergio Perez absolves Lewis Hamilton of Q3 gamesmanship

Hungarian Grand Prix

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Perez absolves Hamilton of Q3 gamesmanship

Perez missed out on the chance to improve his time at the end of qualifying

Ian Parkes & Ewan Gale

Saturday 31 July 2021 20:45 Updated: 10:37

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Sergio Perez has insisted Lewis Hamilton's antics at the end of F1 qualifying were "sensible" after being denied the chance to complete a final flying lap.

Max Verstappen narrowly crossed the line in Q3 after Lewis Hamilton's low-speed out lap but Perez was left stranded as the chequered flag fell in Hungary.

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner suggested the pace was a show of "gamesmanship" from Hamilton but Perez believes Valtteri Bottas' position on the road meant the seven-time champion had nowhere to go.

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"I haven't looked in detail but to be honest, Lewis had a sensible gap to Bottas ahead so something must have happened, someone must have dropped back massively from [Pierre] Gasly, I think," explained Perez.

"I don't think towards the end... he had a normal gap, I just paid the price by being the last car of the train."

Perez thinks F1 should look at gentleman's agreement

Perez was denied the opportunity to improve his fourth fastest time as the lights turned red as he exited the final corner.

After multiple instances of the so-called 'gentleman's agreement' being broken this season, he was asked why he didn't accelerate around the cars ahead.

"I had my team-mate ahead so I felt that obviously, respecting Max was important," said Perez.

"I am sure he would have done the same with me and it is really unfair to the guy ahead to do something like that. That is my point of view.

"It is a good example. If there is someone with a ridiculous gap to the car ahead, it is something we should look at."