'Let My Whole Team Down': Perez And Horner React To Q1 Knockout
F1Saturday, 06 July 2024 at 19:00
Updated at Saturday, 06 July 2024 at 19:21
Red Bull's Sergio Perez and Christian Horner addressed the mistake that prevented the Mexican driver from qualifying for Q1.
Red Bull Racing driver Sergio Perez was knocked out in the first part of qualifying for the 2024 British Grand Prix, which means he will start the race from the P19, the last row on the grid.
The qualifying session at Silverstone Circuit was quite tricky for all the F1 teams and their drivers as the conditions changed from wet to dry.
The 34-year-old was one of the first drivers to try on a new set of slick, soft tires (instead of intermediates), but he made a mistake on his lap and slid into the gravel outside of the Copse corner (turn number 9).
Unfortunately, Checo got his RB20 stuck in the gravel, which meant the session was over for him. Speaking to F1TV after the race, he said:
It's very frustrating. I let my whole team down. I was one of the first few drivers to go on the slick tire. At that point, it needed all the temperature I could get.
As I was approaching Turn 9, I shifted down and locked up the rear axle, which put me out of the track. I tried going straight, but I just completely lost the car.
The qualifying session at Silverstone is the fourth in the last six, and Perez didn't make it into Q3, which is where his team needs him if they want to secure the championship title. He continued:
"I was trying to get out, but it was difficult to do anything, so it's frustrating, and it hurts to let the team down in that way, especially because we had that really strong weekend getting up to now. Unfortunately, we didn't get to show the full pace."
What's worse for the Mexican is that this big mistake comes around the time when Red Bull is reportedly considering replacing him in their A team with Daniel Ricciardo if his performances don't improve.
Asked whether his performance could have something to do with the ever-growing pressure that he faces, the Red Bull Racing driver responded:
"No, no, nothing about it, fully focused on my job, which is to deliver tomorrow, so I don't have to think about anything else."
"The most concerned about it is myself, so I want to get back to my form as early as possible, and yeah, just fully focus on my form."
The team principal of Red Bull Racing, Christian Horner, was obviously disappointed when the incident happened, and he let it be known by shaking his head into the camera. However, speaking to F1TV after qualifying, he supported his driver, as he said:
"Nobody is more disappointed than Checo, obviously; it's not what we can afford, so he's going to have a big race tomorrow."
"Checo is our driver; he's the one we want to get going; we hope that he can recover from this tomorrow."
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