Red Bull Team Principal, Christian Horner, expressed his frustration at Sergio Perez’s challenging qualifying performance in the Austrian Grand Prix, referring to it as “annoying.” For the fourth consecutive race, the Mexican driver missed out on Q3, as all three of his flying laps were deleted in Q2 due to exceeding track limits at Turn 10’s entry.
Throughout the session, the team repeatedly communicated with Perez via team radio, warning him about the errors and urging him to exercise more caution to secure a banker’s lap. However, despite their efforts, the calls went unanswered, leading to a disappointing outcome.
Despite a disappointing result, Sergio Perez now finds himself starting from the 15th position on the grid for the highly anticipated Grand Prix on Sunday.
However, an opportunity for redemption awaits him in Saturday’s standalone Sprint event, where he can strive to make a strong comeback and showcase his true potential.
“He had the pace, he had a car that was easily capable of being on the first or second row, he was matching Max’s times… stay in the white lines,” Horner told Sky Sports F1.
“Strike one, strike two… Checo, just stay in the white lines, strike three and that was it.
“Hugely frustrating because he could have done it, he could have been there. It is fantastic to have got the pole but it feels incomplete.
“It [the instruction to stay within the lines] was crystal clear. It is hugely frustrating because we know he can do it.
“He did a 1:04.9 on that lap, 0.03s off Max. He could have been four-tenths slower and still been in. In Q2, that is not the time to be doing it.”
Perez had suggested he was blocked by Alex Albon’s Williams on his final attempt which he believes forced him wide.
“It is the same for everybody,” insisted Horner. “There was a car ahead, of course it is not going to have helped, but then you build in a bit of margin.
“Checo, frustrated, will turn the page and race hard but it is annoying because we know he could have been there.”
