Sergio Perez obstructed Nico Hulkenberg’s lap during the first qualifying session after Red Bull failed to notify Perez to allow the Haas car to pass in a timely manner.
Perez had a satisfactory performance in qualifying for the Australian Grand Prix. The Mexican driver secured a position on the second row, finishing in third place behind two other drivers. The 34-year-old driver achieved a commendable result for the Milton Keynes team in a challenging session. However, due to the obstruction of Hulkenberg in Q1, Perez will be penalized and moved back on the starting grid.
During Perez’s initial lap in Q1, he inadvertently blocked Hulkenberg at Turn 13. The Haas driver was on a promising flying lap to advance to Q2. Unfortunately, Perez was informed too late to allow Hulkenberg to pass, resulting in a negative impact on the German driver’s lap. The stewards imposed a three-place grid penalty on Perez for this incident.
The stewards acknowledged that Perez did not yield the racing line to Hulkenberg during the German driver’s fast lap. As a result, Hulkenberg had to lift off the throttle and brake earlier. Furthermore, race control found, after reviewing Perez’s team radio, that Red Bull was more focused on the car ahead of Perez. Consequently, Milton Keynes could only instruct Perez to let Hulkenberg pass when the German driver was already very close. This led to Perez unnecessarily obstructing the 36-year-old Haas driver. The stewards justified the three-place penalty as a way to maintain consistency with similar cases in the past.
Nico Hulkenberg expressed his dissatisfaction at missing out on Q2 due to the incident. The German driver stated that he lost a few tenths of a second on his lap because of Sergio Perez. This may have cost Hulkenberg a place in Q2, while his teammate just managed to scrape through to the second session.
Hulkenberg jokingly suggested that Perez might have been taking a “Mexican siesta” during the incident. A siesta refers to a short nap in the afternoon, usually taken after lunch. The German driver believed that Perez simply wasn’t checking his mirrors when he approached the Red Bull car at the end of the lap.
Undoubtedly, Sergio Perez’s race will become more challenging with this penalty. The 34-year-old driver will now start the race from sixth place on the grid, behind three other drivers, including the two McLarens. Therefore, Perez will need to deliver an exceptional performance on Sunday to ensure that Red Bull secures the maximum points in the Australian GP.
