F1 pundit issues scathing Sergio Perez claim amid ‘utterly hopeless’ actions

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Jolyon Palmer has slammed Sergio Perez for the Red Bull driver’s ‘utterly hopeless’ and ‘desperate’ race craft after crashing at the Singapore and Japanese Grand Prix.

The 33-year-old is enduring a nightmare run of results after error-strewn races at the Marina Bay Street Circuit and Suzuka. Perez ruined the races of AlphaTauri talent Yuki Tsunoda and Williams star Alex Albon at the Singapore GP and then Haas ace Kevin Magnussen in Japan.

A half-baked attempt to overtake Tsunoda made the 23-year-old retire on the opening lap in Singapore. Perez dangled his Red Bull halfway alongside the AlphaTauri with slim conviction to make the move stick. It would leave the Japanese star with rear-right suspension damage.

Perez ruined Tsunoda and Albon’s Singapore GP and Magnussen’s Japanese GP

Tsunoda tried to limp back to the pits after his contact with Perez at Turn 5 before ultimately retiring at Turn 14. His AlphaTauri was too damaged to race on after the Mexican destroyed the floor. But Perez did not learn from the error and he later barged Albon out of the points.

Albon was on course to score Williams vital points for the constructors’ championship in P9. But Perez ruined the London-born Thai’s hopes of a top-10 finish as he shoved the 27-year-old aside. The Red Bull racer divebombed Albon at Turn 13 when the overtake was never on.

Perez lunged from too far back way, too late to attempt any overtake at T13, almost sending Albon into the barriers. The FIA’s race stewards issued the Mexican a five-second penalty for the collision. Yet the Guadalajara native repeated his mistake in Japan to Magnussen’s bane.

Just seven days after ruining Albon’s Singapore GP, Perez ruined Magnussen’s Japanese GP with another half-baked attempt at an overtake. The Red Bull driver was desperate to move his way back up the order from P16 and made a naïve effort to overtake the Haas at Turn 11.

The overtake was never on as Perez dived far too late to spin Magnussen’s Haas. His front-right wheel tagged the 30-year-old’s rear-left and tempted Red Bull to retire Perez. He would later return to the circuit to serve the five-second penalty received for causing the collision.

Palmer feels the Red Bull drivers’ race craft has ‘gone completely absent’

Perez getting five-second penalties despite ruining Albon’s Singapore GP and Magnussen’s Japanese GP has irked many. But Palmer suggests the incidents paint a far worse image. He notes Perez’s race craft has ‘gone completely absent’ in a column for the Formula 1 website:

“In Singapore, Perez knocked Tsunoda into retirement on the opening lap, T-boned Albon out of the points late on and received a redundant five-second penalty that didn’t affect his position. While two of F1’s smaller teams were left to rue huge missed opportunities.

“Again in Japan, it was a short-lived recovery for Checo as he sent it into the rear of Kevin Magnussen at the Turn 11 hairpin and needlessly turned the Haas driver around, incurring another five-second penalty in the process.

“It was a move that was no doubt borne out of frustration at being in the fastest car and stuck for longer than anticipated behind Sunday’s slowest team, while being desperate to recover some ground. But it was also an utterly hopeless move for a driver who seems to have forgotten his race craft.”