When the lights went out at Jeddah, the Mexican made history by becoming his country's first-ever F1 polesitter.
Follow Us
Sergio Perez’s first career pole position was followed by the disappointment of finishing fourth in the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix on Sunday, a result he blamed on an inopportune Safety Car. When the lights went out at Jeddah, the Mexican made history by becoming his country’s first-ever F1 polesitter, and he hoped to follow that up with victory after leading away from Charles Leclerc. Perez pitted on Lap 15 – one lap before the race’s first Safety Car – giving his competitors the opportunity to pit on Lap 16 and emerge ahead.
Read More – Alpine news: Esteban Ocon ‘privileged’ to battle teammate Fernando Alonso in Jeddah
“Yes, it was just a big shame,” he said. “We had a good start, we had basically after the first stint, everything felt under control. We had a good first long stint and then come later on, we had the issue with the Safety Car, which really ruined our race weekend. There was nothing else I could really do. I think sometimes when you don’t have the right luck you cannot win the race, especially on crazy tracks like this, it knocks you down,”
Perez seemed set to restart the race in P3 after the Safety Car was deployed on Lap 21, but when Carlos Sainz emerged from the pits on Lap 16, it was discovered that he had forced his way ahead of the Spaniard. As a result, on Lap 21, Perez had to hand over P3 to the Ferrari driver.
Read More – Saudi Arabian GP: Max Verstappen clinches thrilling victory over Charles Leclerc
“Under the Safety Car I lost out to Carlos too,” continued Perez. “It was the worst timing, straight after my pit stop, and made regaining P1 impossible after that. It was a bit of a shame I couldn’t get Carlos at the end to be on the podium, but I didn’t get the chance.”
In Saudi Arabia, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen triumphed over Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, with pole-sitter Sergio Perez settling for fourth after pitting just before a crucial Safety Car. Perez was in the lead until the 16th lap, when a flash of Ferrari mechanics may have prompted Red Bull to make an early pit stop. On the next lap, Williams’ Nicholas Latifi crashed at the final corner, triggering a VSC and then a Safety Car, which Leclerc, Verstappen, and Carlos Sainz took advantage of.
When the Safety Car retreated on Lap 21, the Mexican was set to restart third, but it was discovered that Sainz had passed him as the Spaniard exited the pits alongside the Red Bull during the caution period, leaving the pole-sitter fourth.
