Perez Issued Formal Warning From Stewards After Controversial Team Radio

Monday, 27 November 2023 at 14:00

Updated at Monday, 27 November 2023 at 17:49

Sergio Perez was issued a formal warning from stewards after the end of the 2023 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at Yas Marina Circuit.

Red Bull Racing F1 driver Sergio Perez has been summoned to stewards following his offensive comments in relation to their decisions during the race.

The stewards awarded Perez a five-second penalty for causing the collision with Lando Norris. The Mexican driver disagreed with the decision and called the stewards a joke on the team radio after the race, hence the summoning.

Following the discussion with the Red Bull driver, stewards decided to give him a formal warning. The official document released by FIA detailed:

"The Stewards explained to the driver that they had no issue with someone disagreeing with their decisions, however, comments that amount to personal insults are a breach of the International Sporting Code."

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It is quite common for F1 drivers who run on super high adrenaline to make offensive comments against each other in the heat of the moment. Perez apologized to the stewards and explained his position.

"The driver made a genuine and sincere apology to each of the Stewards and explained that he made the comments in the heat of the moment and did not consider the fact that they would be broadcast and the impact of that."

Red Bull Racing team principal Christian Horner came on Perez's team radio after the race and expressed his disagreement with the stewards' decision, calling the incident no different from previous races.

Perez apparently went over the incident with stewards and still disagreed with the decision to award him with a five-second penalty but acknowledged the stewards' point of view.

"The incident itself was also reviewed in detail with the driver and although he still disagreed with the Decision he stated he could understand the Stewards’ perspective of the incident."