Perez expects penalty for Hamilton over obstruction incident · RaceFans

Sergio Perez expects that the race management will penalize Lewis Hamilton because of the incident between the two in qualifying.

The Red Bull driver accused his Mercedes rival of hindering him in turn eight in Q1. “What the hell is that idiot doing?” Perez asked over the radio.

Perez attempted to improve his original time on a used set of tyres when he caught Hamilton, claiming the incident forced him to use a fresh set of tyres to secure a place in Q2.

Afterwards, Perez said he did not believe Hamilton intended to stop him, but expected race control to take action over the incident. “It was just the wrong time, the wrong moment,” Perez told Sky.

“I think he did his best to get out of the way. Unfortunately, the race directors have been very strict about such incidents all season. I have received much worse penalties. [less] than that and many drivers.

“It was just unfortunate timing. It cost me an extra set of tires and I think it will cost him a penalty. But other than that I think he just picked the wrong time and the wrong moment.”

Perez took fifth place on the grid, only the second time in the last nine rounds that he had qualified in the top five, and said the result showed the progress he and the team had made since the last race in solving some of its issues.

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“I think the holidays were definitely very good for us as a team because we were able to understand a lot of our problems and the weekend confirmed all of that,” said Perez. “So everything is very promising in that respect.”

“Now we just have to put the puzzle together. I believe we can have a good second half of the season.”

“I think we'll definitely have the pace to compete tomorrow, so I'm looking forward to it,” he added.

Dutch Grand Prix 2024

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