Red Bull’s Sergio Perez found himself in the barriers and out of qualifying for the 2024 Hungarian Grand Prix, a crash that intensifies scrutiny on his position within the team.
With the ninth-fastest time on the board in Q1 on a rain-slicked Hungaroring track, the Mexican lost control of his Red Bull RB20 at the exit of Turn 8, crashing heavily into the walls and causing significant damage to the car’s rear end. The incident brought out the red flags, but Perez emerged unscathed and returned to the Red Bull garage.
The crash marked Perez’s fourth Q1 exit in the past six races, a statistic that has fueled speculation about his future with the team. Reflecting on the incident, Perez explained, “It was really, really bad timing. At the time, it was just raining a little bit harder in that particular part. I think when I turned in, I clipped the kerb, and it was on the damp side. Unfortunately, I lost the car quite late in the corner and became a passenger from that point on.”
Asked about the pressure surrounding his future, Perez acknowledged the frustration, saying, “Yeah, of course – it cannot happen again. But at the same time, it makes me more determined to get back to my form, to get back with this team and basically head down and learn from these mistakes. Yesterday, I think we were the fastest car in the long runs, so hopefully, we can show that in tomorrow’s race and make progress, minimise the damage, and hopefully score some good points.”
Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner, who recently described Perez’s poor form as “unsustainable,” was unimpressed with the crash. “First of all, it’s good that he’s okay because it was quite a big accident, but it’s a huge shame,” Horner told F1 TV. “Yesterday was looking quite strong for him. He was up on his lap time, and the car just got away from him. Unfortunately, it’s done quite a lot of damage.”
Meanwhile, Max Verstappen, left to represent Red Bull in Q3, secured third place behind McLaren’s Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri. Reflecting on his performance, Verstappen said, “I tried. The whole weekend we’ve been a little bit behind, and that was also the case in qualifying. I tried to make it as close as possible, but unfortunately just not enough.”
Verstappen remains hopeful for the race, saying, “P3’s still very close. I just hope that for tomorrow, the car is good in the race, and we can at least follow them and see what we can do. I love competition, but I would like to be on top of the competition. At the moment, I feel like we’re chasing and having a few more difficult weekends, but I don’t back out of a fight.”
He added, “The last few races, especially McLaren, has been really good in the race compared to qualifying. Tomorrow’s going to be quite a different day, and I hope that will help us.”
