Sergio Perez blames Ocon for poor sprint qualifying: ‘We should have been in the mix’

Sergio Perez of Red Bull Racing at the 2024 Austrian Grand Prix PlanetF1

Sergio Perez firmly believes his RB20 racer was destined for a better sprint qualifying position had his fast lap not been compromised by Alpine’s Esteban Ocon.

Speaking to Sky after sprint qualifying for the Austrian Grand Prix, Sergio Perez said it was a “shame” that he was unable to qualify higher than P7 after his fast lap was impeded by the slow-moving Alpine of Esteban Ocon, who qualified P8.

Sergio Perez: ‘There was no chance’

Perez hasn’t had the easiest year in 2024, but speaking after qualifying, he did sound confident that his Red Bull RB20 had pace — but that pace was impeded.

“I think we were making good progress,” Perez said. “My Q2 lap 1 wasn’t ideal; I went deep into Turn 3. So I went again, and I was finding the time. I think we were in the mix today.

“Unfortunately, I don’t know what Esteban was doing there, where apparently he had to drive really slowly. I did my final lap within a half a second from him.

“Basically, there was no chance.

“It’s a shame because I think we were having more promising pace today. Unfortunately, we were not able to maximize it.”

That being said, his P7 start is Perez’s best starting position since the Miami Grand Prix — though it was still 1.3 seconds slower than the pole lap set by his teammate Max Verstappen.

However, things began to fall apart during SQ3. Every driver in the session waited until the last possible moment to exit the pit lane and set a speed. That meant everyone would have just one chance to secure pole.

Unfortunately, Perez was one of the final drivers to leave the pit lane, and he did so in between the Alpines of Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly.

Ocon set such as slow pace on his out lap that both Perez and Gasly were in danger of not crossing the timing line before the end of the session.

Perez’s flying lap was then further disturbed by the dirty air from Ocon’s A524.

A tale of two Red Bulls at the Austrian Grand Prix

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👉 Winners and losers from 2024 Austrian Grand Prix sprint qualifying

Unfortunately for Perez, F1’s broadcast didn’t quite catch this Alpine situation as it happened. As a result, the Mexican driver’s deficit to his teammate appeared particularly egregious.

In reality, Perez was simply instructed to leave his pit box at a poor time, which then compromised the rest of his qualifying performance.

Summing up his day, Perez said, “I think we should have been in the mix today, but for circumstances out of our control, we didn’t end up where we needed to be.

“I’m confident that tomorrow will be a better day.”