After acknowledging his reckless release and accepting the penalty from the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix stewards, Sergio Perez is now in danger of losing his racing privileges.
Starting the race from third, Perez overtook Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc at the beginning, but the Monegasque recovered his position four turns later.
But on lap four, he finally passed Leclerc, and for the rest of the race, he was within a few seconds of polesitter and eventual winner of the race Max Verstappen, guaranteeing a comfortable Red Bull 1-2.
The Mexican, however, acknowledged that his race wasn’t as seamless as it ought to have been.
Perez stated, “Yes, it was a lot more chaotic [than Verstappen’s race].”
“I started off really well. Charles maintained it there, so I allowed him room into Turn 2 and it was his corner in Turn 4, but sadly I was unable to stay ahead of him.
That was a good start, so it was a good start once more. I guess it took me two or three circuits to get through Charles after that. And then the race was starting to look excellent.
“I was three seconds behind Max, and I thought that Medium stint’s degradation was going rather well.
“But regrettably, that early Safety Car compromise left us vulnerable, and as a result, almost everyone simply pitted.”
