Sergio Perez apologises to Red Bull after Canada qualifying crash

Sam Hall
Sunday 19 June 2022 00:15

Sergio Perez has apologised to Red Bull after crashing out of qualifying in Q2 at the Canadian Grand Prix.

Red Bull was keen to assert its dominance on Saturday with championship rival Charles Leclerc having a back-of-the-grid penalty after taking a number of new Ferrari power unit elements for the weekend.

But a low-speed crash in Q2 caused the red flags to fly as Perez was unable to recover his RB18 from the barriers.

"[It was] very frustrating," said the Mexican. "A bad day for myself.

Perez - I let my team down

"I let my team down and I am very sorry, but now I need to focus on tomorrow and try to minimise the damage."

Perez had been one of the first drivers to switch to the intermediate compound as the track condition improved.

On the run to turn three, the Red Bull driver's wheels failed to grip and he understeered onto the grass before coming to an abrupt stop in the barriers.

Asked why he had been unable to return to the track, Perez explained: "I got reverse in but the front wing got stuck beneath the Tecpro and the marshal wouldn't help me to wheel back."

Perez confirmed only the front wing had sustained damage in the impact.

Inters call was the right one

"It was tricky to get a clean lap," he added. There was a lot of traffic but yeah, I think the second session on the inters was the right thing to do and unfortunately, that meant - I think we had a good car to be able to fight them back.

"Yeah, it was the right decision, especially with the track on the drying side, it was the right one."