Sergio Perez has issued a call to the FIA for a review of its track limits processes after he was “hurt” by a costly lap time deletion during qualifying in Abu Dhabi.
Perez has struggled to match team-mate and polesitter Max Verstappen at the Yas Marina Circuit but managed to set a good time enough for fifth on his final Q3 run.
However, the Mexican was found to have breached track limits at Turn 1 during his final run, which resulted in the lap time being deleted by the stewards.
With his best lap invalidated, Perez’s earlier attempt, during which he reported “horrendous driveability”, was only good enough for ninth on the grid.
“Yeah, it wasn’t an ideal one. It was a really tricky one actually. To get that lap time deleted, it hurt,” said a dejected Perez.
“We didn’t get the cleanest Q3. I ended up making a mistake into Turn 6 which cost me a few tenths, but other than that, at least we were starting P5. But now with the lap deleted, things get a bit harder.”
The Red Bull driver called for Formula 1’s stewards to find a better solution to the track limits situation, claiming that lap deletions lead to a “confusing” situation.
Under F1’s Sporting Code, Article 33.3 of the regulations simply stipulates that drivers must make “every reasonable effort” to use the track at all times – “for the avoidance of doubt, any white lines defining the track edges are considered to be part of the track but the kerbs are not.”
“Yes, [it’s] frustrating, always, especially when it’s so close, but you just have to rely on the Stewards,” rued Perez, who was unconvinced when he first heard about his violation.
“I mean, it’s what it is now but I really hope that during the winter we are able to find a better solution, for the drivers, but also for the people back at home, because it’s confusing for everyone.
“I don’t think it looks nice, finishing qualifying and then you have teams that are arguing all afternoon about penalties or not. I just feel there’s some work ahead of us to try to come up with a better solution for track limits.
Asked whether he had any suggestions for a potential fix, he stated: “I have no idea. They should be working on a better solution than we have now, and working on the circuits. I think we create these issues for ourselves just with how the circuits are.”
Perez ended Saturday’s running 0.726s off the pace of Verstappen, largely owing to the fact that the Dutchman had saved a fresh set of Softs for his initial Q3 attempt.
Perez, meanwhile, had burned through an extra set earlier in the qualifying hour in what “wasn’t the smoothest session” for the 33-year-old.
The result means a comprehensive 20-2 victory for Verstappen in the qualifying head-to-head between the Red Bull pair.
Perez’s attempts to end a turbulent season on a high note have been further blighted, having sat out FP1 and then endured an FP2 session which saw limited running.
“I think tomorrow is going to be a long race, anything can happen,” he noted. “I think degradation will be one of the main things tomorrow so let’s see what we are able to do.”
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