A relaunch of VSC at the wrong time for Sergio Pérez

On the podium of the French Grand Prix for a long time, Sergio Pérez finally had to lose to George Russell after a Virtual Safety Car which dragged on at the end of the race. A disappointment for the Mexican, also surprised by Lewis Hamilton at the start and who quickly fell behind on Charles Leclerc et Max Verstappen.

“It was difficult today (Sunday. Editor’s note), I was late and unfortunately I couldn't get the podium we wanted. I had trouble with tire management, admits Pérez. I had a close battle with George but it was nice, I would have liked to have pushed for a double, but Mercedes was very strong and it was difficult to overtake them. We have a few things to analyze and I hope I find my rhythm and come back stronger for Hungary. »

Software error costs Pérez podium

“It was frustrating not to have Checo on the podium, it was just bad timing for the virtual safety car for him, there was a software error (for VSC) so they were held back longer than they should have been, explains the main team of Red Bull, Christian Horner, to justify the poor restart of his driver. We have to keep pushing this season and look to make the most of every ounce of performance, there are a lot of factors at play but today was a big day for us” with the victory of Max Verstappen, who increased his lead over Charles Leclerc in the championship.

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“It was a long and difficult race, explains George Russell for his part. Our pace was strong, but we really struggled to get the tires up to temperature and Checo was strong today. I was happy to see the checkered flag and come home in third place. We are making a lot of progress and we really need to improve our performance in qualifying because we lack consistency. Our race pace today was reasonable and we are closing in on the lead. We are doing everything we can to improve the performance of the car and we think we are on the right track, so we are excited about what the next races can bring us. We are making progress and there is still much to do, thank you to everyone at the Brackley and Brixworth factories for their hard work and dedication. »

Sergio Pérez's mishap offered a first double podium for Mercedes this season, a sign of improvement for the eight-time reigning world champion manufacturer.

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