“Excessive tire degradation” cost Pérez victory

New top 2 for Sergio Pérez at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. In Baku, the pilot Red Bull achieved a third consecutive finish in the first two positions. However, Pérez did not seem fully satisfied upon arrival. And for good reason: the Mexican led the race for the first 15 laps. But due to a slow stop and poor tire wear, Pérez was not on the pace of the winner, Max Verstappen.

“Unfortunately we missed the pit stop under the virtual safety car. There was a misunderstanding and once we were there it was a little too late. We were unlucky because until then, we were doing our race, we were in the lead. After the restart, I had too much degradation on the medium tires. The degradation was excessive for me, this is something we need to understand because Max was much stronger today on the medium relay. We have a lot to learn and analyze from today's race. But it's a good team result. »

The Mexican put up no resistance when his teammate overtook him on the fifteenth lap. Red Bull asked Pérez not to fight with Verstappen. A request that the winner of Monaco did not contest. “I think the team chose the right strategy. At that time Max was ahead, we had to play the team result. Here, anything can happen. In the end, we managed to do the double. »

Thanks to his 2nd place and the point for the best lap in the race in Baku, Sergio Pérez becomes Verstappen's new runner-up in the championship, 21 points behind the Dutchman.

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