Sergio Perez reveals 'big hole' which affected his race during Austrian Grand Prix

The 2024 Austrian Grand Prix proved to be a challenging race for Sergio Perez, the Red Bull driver who has been struggling to regain his early-season form. Starting from P8, Perez’s race quickly unravelled due to a series of unfortunate events, highlighting the issues that have plagued his recent performances.

On the first lap, Perez found himself in a three-way battle with Charles Leclerc and Oscar Piastri. While he initially escaped unscathed from the Turn 1 clash, Turn 4 brought disaster. In an attempt to defend his position from Piastri’s McLaren, Perez's Red Bull sustained significant damage to its sidepod. 

This incident resulted in a substantial aerodynamic disadvantage, severely affecting his car's performance for the remainder of the race. The damage was not immediately apparent, but Perez soon felt the repercussions. 

The compromised sidepod disrupted the car’s balance and handling, making it difficult for him to maintain competitive lap times. As a result, Perez struggled to keep pace with the leading pack and eventually finished in a disappointing P7, trailing behind Nico Hulkenberg’s Haas.

“It was unfortunate”, says Sergio Perez 

In his post-race interview, Perez elaborated on the extent of the damage and its impact on his performance. He described the sidepod damage as a major hindrance, stating, "There was a lot of damage on the sidepod. I touched a bit with Oscar Piastri at Turn 4, I don’t know if it came from there. It was unfortunate because we had a good start, but from then on, the car was just nowhere. Nothing I could do, I was just off balance."

Perez’s struggles were further compounded by a mistake in the pit lane, where he failed to properly engage the pit limiter, resulting in additional time loss. Reflecting on his race, he remarked, "It was just a disaster of a race that started well. But I think with just lacking so much pace out there and lagging around, there was no hope for fighting people again.”