Sergio Perez started the Australian Grand Prix from the last of the grid. But after overtaking all the drivers in between, he ended up on P5, proving himself to be no less than Max Verstappen, who started the Saudi Arabian GP from P15 and finished on P2. The issue that prevented Verstappen from winning the second race of the season is known to each one of us. All in the world knows that Max’s RB19 faced a driveshaft issue. However, no one knows why Sergio Perez had to lose the Australian Grand Prix. What happened to his car in Melbourne? When asked, team Red Bull’s principal Christian Horner simply turned the page; next question, please.
In the Albert Park Circuit on Friday at free practice sessions, Sergio Perez managed to do the third fastest lap. But just in the third practice and the next day in the qualifying, he got a little uncomfortable with the car, which turned into a torment eventually. The Mexican struggled with the car while all the drivers overtook him, and he had to retire prematurely just after the first lap. His teammate secured the pole position. But Checo faced braking and balance issues, losing control of his car at turn 3.
However, when the media asked to team Red Bull to explain what exactly happened with Sergio Perez, they somehow succeeded in avoiding it. Christian Horner refused to comment on what was asked, but he stated the story from his perspective. The boss said, “The team is collecting all the data to check if the engine management has something wrong in it that contributed to the performance.”
Christian Horner Explained It All Except For What He Was Asked For
Later, Horner explained that they are going through the process as mentioned. Speaking specifically about Checo’s situation in Q1, he stated, “He grabbed the brakes a couple of times-lock-ups and ran deep. He ran off twice in FP3. and the first lap took a lot of quite hard pushes from him. He, unfortunately, ran into the gravel and could not come back to the track.”
But why did that happen? “We are looking through it and trying to fix it before the Australian Grand Prix starts.” This is what Christian Horner replied. He further elaborated that, indeed, Checo had a horrible day. And the bad things started from the morning itself. His car was Weighbridge, and when searched, no major issue was found. He planned to run differently from Max, which was to not do the long run. Perez planned to make two short runs. But he was not recovered from the losses of P3. The lap that was not envisioned as it went took off his power.
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Speaking more about Checo, Horner addressed that the Mexican driver is happy and satisfied with the fact that he managed to make points from the fastest lap. Also, the Red Bull driver became the driver of the day showing how no P20 can take what he deserves. The boss praised his driver for driving phenomenally, which presented Red Bull with a P1-5 win. The recovery remained historical, and given this, the entire team is happy. Sergio Perez and Max Verstappen together gave Red Bull what they never got in the last ten years. And this is what Christian Horner stated, trying to avoid what exactly happened with Sergio Perez.