Sergio Perez has been given a three-place grid penalty for the next race for driving a damaged car on track during the Canadian Grand Prix.
Red Bull admitted they told Perez to drive back to the pits to avoid triggering a Safety Car period. His team mate Max Verstappen was leading the race.
Perez damaged his car when he spun into a barrier at turn six during the race. He was able to drive away with much of the rear wing hanging off his car.
The stewards noted parts were falling off Perez’s car as he drove back to the pits, potentially endangering other drivers.
“After making contact with the barriers in turn six, the driver continued on track for the remainder of the lap with a significantly damaged car and thereby lost several carbon fibre parts on the way back to the pits. The team confirmed in the hearing that the driver had been advised to bring the car back to the pits as they were trying to avoid a Safety Car situation.
“The stewards determine that, as well as a financial penalty for the team, a sporting penalty is necessary due to the safety implications of the incident. The penalty is imposed in line with precedents.”
Perez was not given any penalty points for the incident. He already has eight.
Before the stewards issued the penalty Red Bull team principal Christian Horner admitted it had been “a horrible weekend for Checo”. He was eliminated in Q1 and also collided with Pierre Gasly on the first lap before his race-ending crash.
“Obviously we picked up some damage,” continued Horner, speaking to Sky. “So he’ll need to come back strong in Barcelona.
“Thankfully Ferrari had a shocker today so didn’t get any points so that let us off the hook somewhat. But we need both cars scoring. We got away with it today but we need Checo back up there where he was at the beginning of the year from Barcelona onwards.”
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2024 Canadian Grand Prix
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