“Sad to finish third on the road but fifth overall” – Red Bull boss Christian Horner is upset FIA handed Sergio Perez a five-second penalty which resulted in him losing two places and five championship points.
Sergio Perez was handed the penalty for overtaking Charles Leclerc off the track at the second chicane at Monza. By the time he would have given the place back, Valtteri Bottas had overtaken Leclerc.
Irrespective, Red Bull boss Christian Horner has alleged there was no word from the race director’s office to hand the place back. Eventually, Perez was handed a 5-second penalty, which dropped him to P5 from his finishing position of P3, a loss of the podium, and five crucial points in their battle vs Mercedes.
“With Checo, he was desperately unlucky and we felt it was very marginal given there was no instruction from the race office to give the position back.
“We had to make a decision whether or not to get on with the race, so we got our heads down and then Checo was given the penalty.
“He drove some strong laps under intense pressure but was unable to open up a gap, and so we were sad to finish third on the road but fifth overall with only one car scoring points.”
Perez eventually finished behind Bottas – who got the podium at his expense – and Leclerc. Otherwise, it was quite a brilliant drive from the Mexican throughout the Italian GP, proving his credentials yet again after a well-deserved contract extension with Red Bull.
