Sergio Perez expects the stewards will penalise Lewis Hamilton over the incident between the pair in qualifying.
The Red Bull driver accused his Mercedes rival of impeding him at turn eight during Q1. “What the fuck is this idiot doing?” Perez asked on his radio.
Perez was trying to improve his original time on a used set of tyres when he caught Hamilton. He claimed the incident forced him to to use a fresh set of tyres to claim a place in Q2.
Speaking afterwards, Perez said he did not believe Hamilton had intended to hold him up, but expects the stewards will take action over the incident. “It was just wrong time, wrong moment,” Perez told Sky.
“I think he did the best he could to get out of the way. Unfortunately with this sort of incident, the stewards have been very strict throughout the season. I’ve got penalties for a lot worse [less] than that, and a lot of drivers.
“It was just unfortunate timing. That cost me an extra set of tyres and I think will cost him a penalty. But other than that I think he was just wrong time, wrong moment.”
Perez went on to take fifth on the grid, which is only the second time he qualified within the top five in the last nine rounds. He said the result shows the progress he and the team made addressing some of his problems since the last race.
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“I think that definitely as a team the holidays have been very strong for us because we’ve been able to understand a lot of our issues that we’ve had and the weekend has confirmed it all,” said Perez. “So I think in that regard it’s all very promising.
“Now we just have to put the puzzle all together. I believe that there is a good second half of the season for us to have.”
“I believe we definitely are going to have the pace tomorrow to be in the mix so I’m looking forward to it,” he added.
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