Horner Reveals Unusual Cause Behind Perez's Loss Of Performance In Australia

Monday, 25 March 2024 at 15:00

Christian Horner discussed the reason behind Sergio Perez's sudden loss of performance during the 2024 Australian Grand Prix.

Sergio Perez started the third round of the season around the Albert Park Circuit from P6 after dropping three positions on the starting grid due to a penalty for impeding Nico Hulkenberg in qualifying.

This meant the Mexican driver had some ground to make up if he wanted to finish on the podium. He started the race with a decent pace, which the Red Bull team principal, Christian Horner, suggested was equal to the pace of the race leaders. As quoted by motorsport.com, he said:

"We went long on the first stint and his actual pace when he was coming through the field on the hard tire as he closed in on Fernando was strong, and matching that of the leaders."

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The problem was that he seemingly couldn't make further progress after the 34-year-old overtook the Aston Martin driver on lap 27.

The Red Bull team principal suggested that the real problem was a tear-off from Alonso's visor that got stuck on Perez's floor and significantly reduced his performance.

The 50-year-old originally suggested that the Mexican driver "pick up a bit of damage" after overtaking Alonso, but the post-race analysis must have revealed this new information. Horner explained:

"And then literally as he's passed Fernando, he's picked up a tear-off underneath the floor and it's got lodged in an area that's caused significant load loss."

So as he's then passed Fernando, the car's not working as it should. And so then you start to see degradation on the tire, and again at the end of the second stint, which has been unusual for our cars.

It was a really unlucky weekend for Red Bull Racing. After the Australian Grand Prix, the team from Milton Keynes still leads in both Championships, but only by four points.