Lewis Hamilton and Sergio Perez were involved in a heated on-track incident during qualifying ahead of the Dutch GP. The seven-time world champion impended Perez, which affected the latter’s flying lap. He ended up calling the Briton an idiot- something he suggested was unnecessary, shortly after.
Hamilton was on his way back to the pits after his second run in Q1. Peter Bonnington, Hamilton’s race engineer, informed him that Perez was behind him on a fast lap, and he tried his best to get out of the way but was unsuccessful. “What the f*ck is this idiot doing,” Perez exclaimed on the team radio.
| PER on his impending incident with Lewis: “I think he did the best he could to get out the way. It was just unfortunate timing.”#DutchGP pic.twitter.com/1vHgvPfHpV
— Hamilton Insights (@LH44_insights) August 24, 2024
However, Perez responded in a different tone during the post-qualifying press conference. He stated,
“Yeah, it was just the wrong time, the wrong moment. I think he did the best he could to get out of the way. Unfortunately with these sorts of incidents, the stewards have been very strict throughout the season.”
Perez felt he could have done better in Q3 had Hamilton not spoiled his Q1 run, because it cost him an extra set of tires. The Guadalajara-born driver, who finished P5, wanted the FIA to hand Hamilton a grid penalty, which was issued a few hours after the session.
Hamilton initially finished P12 in a rather dismal Q2 exit, and the drop meant he would start Sunday’s race from P15.
Hamilton Blamed Incident with Perez for Qualifying Struggles
Mercedes looked fast on Friday’s practice sessions and was looking likely to be in the hunt for pole position in Zandvoort. However, both drivers struggled; Hamilton more than Russell.
He revealed how the incident with Perez marked the start of a rather disappointing session for the Silver Arrows.
Hamilton told Sky Sports,
“It all went badly from the moment that situation with Perez happened. I did my best to get out of the way. I was as far to the left as possible, but just timing was bad. It’s a domino effect probably. From that moment it just went from bad to worse.”
Drivers build on the momentum built over a race weekend. Coming out of the summer break, the momentum was even more crucial. The Checo incident likely rattled Hamilton and broke his flow.
