
Perez claims Gasly lucky to escape punishment for near-miss
Perez claims Gasly lucky to escape punishment for near-miss

Sergio Perez believes Pierre Gasly was fortunate to escape a penalty for ignoring blue flags at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
The Red Bull driver was chasing down Ferrari's Charles Leclerc in the final stint of the season after moving to a two-stop strategy, providing him with fresher tyres for a late onslaught.
Mexican Perez eventually ended the race 1.3secs adrift of Leclerc, but the result could have been different had he not been held up by Gasly's AlphaTauri during his charge.
When Perez came up to lap the Frenchman, Gasly was locked into battle with Alex Albon's Williams.
With Gasly swinging wide on entry to turn six with three laps remaining, Perez moved to the inside, only for the AT03 to come back across the apex, narrowly avoiding contact.
Asked how crucial the situation was for his race against Leclerc, with the Monégasque consequently taking second in the drivers' standings, Perez replied: "Well, I certainly lost a bit, probably a second or so or probably more.
"There were clearly blue flags, but he was in a fight and it's pretty hard not to give up the position.
"I think he was thinking to go for the move but I just end up being there and I thought he left it open.
"I went for it and luckily I could brake at the last minute otherwise there would have been contact.
"In normal conditions that will certainly be a penalty for Pierre but it is the last race. It's how it goes sometimes."
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F1 Standings

Drivers
- Charles Leclerc
- Carlos Sainz
- Lando Norris
- Oscar Piastri
- Pierre Gasly
- Esteban Ocon
- Sergio Pérez
- Max Verstappen
- Alexander Albon
- Logan Sargeant
- Lewis Hamilton
- George Russell
- Nico Hülkenberg
- Kevin Magnussen
- Fernando Alonso
- Lance Stroll
- Valtteri Bottas
- Zhou Guanyu
- Nyck De Vries
- Liam Lawson
- Daniel Ricciardo
- Yuki Tsunoda
Races
-
Gulf Air Grand Prix of Bahrain 2023
-
Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2023
-
Grand Prix of Australia 2023
-
Grand Prix of China 2023
-
Grand Prix of Azerbaijan 2023
-
Miami Grand Prix 2023
-
Qatar Airways Gran Premio Del Made In Italy E Dell'emilia Romagna 2023
-
Grand Prix of Monaco 2023
-
AWS Gran Premio de España 2023
-
Grand Prix du Canada 2023
-
Grand Prix of Austria 2023
-
Aramco Grand Prix of Great Britain 2023
-
Grand Prix of Hungary 2023
-
Grand Prix of Belgium 2023
-
Heineken Dutch Grand Prix 2023
-
Grand Prix of Italy 2023
-
Grand Prix of Singapore 2023
-
Grand Prix of Japan 2023
-
Qatar Grand Prix 2023
-
Grand Prix of the United States 2023
-
Gran Premio de la Ciudad de Mexico 2023
-
Rolex Grande Prêmio de São Paulo 2023
-
Heineken Silver Las Vegas Grand Prix 2023
-
Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi 2023
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