Checo Pérez ‘s race at the Austrian Grand Prix was doomed by a contact with Russell at turn 4 of the Red Bull Ring circuit, when the Mexican sought to overtake the Briton on the outside line.
Sergio Pérez went to the gravel as a result of the contact but was able to continue in the race, although the damage he suffered to his car led the team to decide that it was best to retire after 24 laps, since he was running last and very far from the rest.
The Guadalajara driver defended his maneuver by ensuring that he gave “enough space” to George Russell, while the Mercedes driver believes that the attempt was “brave” by the Red Bull driver.
Marko , for his part, was disappointed with Checo Pérez because before the race there had been talk in the team about not trying to overtake on the outside at turn 4 given the history of that sector.
“We said before the start that we couldn’t do it on the outside of that corner. That was sadly unnecessary,” the Red Bull Racing adviser told Sky Sports Germany.
Perez had already had a bad experience last year at the start of the Austrian GP at the same venue when he looked to overtake Lando Norris and ran out of track space. He fell from fourth to tenth place and the Briton, like Russell this Sunday, was penalized.
For Red Bull, bad memories with turn 4 in Austria also come from 2020, when Alexander Albon, Max Verstappen’s former teammate, wanted to overtake Lewis Hamilton from the outside and ended up in the gravel, losing a podium that seemed safe.
“Unfortunately our record of overtaking Mercedes on the outside at Turn 4 hasn’t been particularly good,” team principal Christian Horner said of Perez’s incident with Russell and recalling Albon’s with Hamilton.
(Remember here that accident and the one this Sunday)
Unlike Marko, Horner defended Pérez’s attempt, although he did not miss the riskiness of that sector.
“I think (Perez) had a good start from Turn 3. You know, they’re racing drivers who have to go for it. But obviously on the outside of Turn 4 you depend a lot on the guy who’s going on the inside. , you know, if he cooperates and gives you space,” he said.
“We had seen it in the junior categories. In turn 4, there is a lot of risk on the outside,” he concluded.
Additional reporting by Norman Fischer and Jonathan Noble
