Sergio Perez receives a three-place grid penalty for the Australian Grand Prix start
Sergio Perez received a three-place penalty in Australia for obstructing Nico Hülkenberg's car. As a result, he drops from third to sixth place, just behind Oscar Piastri.
The Australian Grand Prix is already taking a bad turn for Sergio Perez. Following the qualifying session, in which he secured the third place for the race on Sunday, behind Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz, the Mexican driver was penalized by the stewards for impeding the progress of Nico Hülkenberg.
Indeed, during turn 13, Perez impeded Hülkenberg’s car, which forced the latter to brake prematurely and change his trajectory.
« It was the first round, so it wasn’t the decisive round, but it still wasn’t ideal on his part »,” commented the Haas driver after qualifying.
After analyzing the data provided by the teams and reviewing the videos and statements of the drivers, the stewards concluded that Perez had obstructed Hülkenberg unnecessarily. They have therefore decided to penalize him by imposing a penalty of three grid places back for the Australian Grand Prix on Sunday.
Despite the explanations provided by Red Bull regarding the complexity of the situation on the track, the stewards upheld their decision, stating that warnings should have been given to Perez earlier to prevent this kind of incident, said the FIA statement.
This means that Perez is relegated from third to sixth place, a penalty that benefits Lando Norris, Charles Leclerc and Oscar Piastri, who all move up one position.
While Perez has not yet publicly reacted to the penalty, Red Bull has declared that they are ready for overtaking when the Mexican starts the race this Sunday.
Checo will now be starting the race in P6 after receiving a three-place grid penalty. Let’s get ready for some overtakes 👀 https://t.co/g7sm6Unmj6
— Oracle Red Bull Racing (@redbullracing) March 23, 2024
