Perez responds to Sainz complaints: 'Just had a good fight'

F1 News

Perez goes into battle with Carlos Sainz at Austrian Grand Prix
3 July 2023 at 09:28
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  • Olly Darcy
  • Editor

After Friday's disappointing performance in qualifying, it did not seem to be Sergio Perez's weekend. In the end, the Mexican managed to recover by securing podium finishes and both the sprint race and the main race. During the press conference, he looks back on the weekend.

Perez finished 15th in qualifying for the main race after going off track several times during his laps in Q2. On Saturday, things went better for the Mexican: he finished second during both the Sprint shootout and the Sprint race. During the first lap of the sprint race, the Red Bull driver even went into battle with teammate Max Verstappen, who was supreme throughout the weekend. On Sunday, the 33-year-old driver managed to drive from P15 to P3.

Strategy

During the main race, however, things did not go completely easy. During the virtual safety car period, Perez did not go into the pits, losing time to the rest of the grid. “I think with the VSC, it's something that we got to review from the position I was. It is something we need to see, and also the way we did the strategy when we used the hard at the end. A few things to tickle around, but I got back to the podium, so it was a good strategy.” Perez told the press conference.

Perez denies harassment

During the race, Carlos Sainz complained about Perez allegedly intimidating him during the race. According to the Mexican, none of this is true: "I think we just had a proper fight. They were particularly strong, I'd say, in the exit of three, so it took me a bit longer. On one occasion, I was down the inside into turn four, and all of a sudden I find I have stopped on the inside, so I had to back off. So it took me probably a bit longer than I wanted, but in the end, we got it done."