Red Bull Content Pool
F1 News
Perez drops out after sloppy early stages full of mistakes in Japan
- Toby McLuskie
Sergio Perez was handed a five-second time penalty for a foul he committed during the safety car in the Japanese Grand Prix. Moments later, he had to fear another time penalty: however, he did not have to serve it as he had to park his damaged Red Bull in the pits.
Perez had to make an early pit stop after sustaining damage during a contact moment with Lewis Hamilton at the start of the race. He made that stop during the safety car, which came out early due to debris on the track.
Time penalty and retirement for Perez
Coming out of the pits, the Red Bull Racing driver overtook several Formula 1 drivers, against the rules. He returned the places immediately, although, in the case of Alex Albon, it took just a little longer. However, the penalty was possibly given because of an incident while entering the pit lane, where Perez also overtook a car. The stewards decided to impose a five-second time penalty on the Mexican.
Presumably, he could have added another five seconds, as moments later the Red Bull driver tapped Kevin Magnussen's Haas around the track. After this, Perez again had to come in for a new front wing and had to fear another time penalty, but before it came he was called in to park his damaged car in the garage.