Sergio Perez crashed his RB-19 just three minutes into FP1 in Hungary, amidst the fear of losing his seat to Daniel Ricciardo. The timing of the crash could not be worse as the cost of the damage is reported to be at least $250,000. Unfortunately for him, this happens on a weekend when Red Bull brought in major upgrades.
Furthermore, things could get even worse for Perez and the defending champions. As the RB-19 of Perez was being lifted on its way back to the garage, the floor of the car was once again on full display. Since they did get upgrades in, rival teams will once again be taking notes from this revelation.
Sergio Perez clips the grass and his FP1 ends in the barriers 💥#HungarianGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/2sWABZXYQl
— Formula 1 (@F1) July 21, 2023
Perez’s poor run in form seems to be continuing in Hungary too. He failed to make it into Q3 in the last five races. Heading into this weekend’s qualifying, he was hoping to start strong by performing well in the practice session. But in the end, he just gave he ended up costing his team a quarter of a million dollars after crashing.
Perez’s costly crash and Horner’s criticism ahead of Saturday
On his first flying lap, Perez dipped and lost control of his left rear tire which hit the grass. This resulted in a spin that sent him off the track. Ultimately, he crashed against the wall, and even though he managed to get out on the track in FP2, the RB19 belonging to the Mexican star suffered significant damage.
Christian Horner, the Red Bull team principal informed Sky Sports that the damage is expected to be at the front right corner. He also added that the start to the weekend wasn’t an ideal one, credit to the FP1 crash.
Checo watches on as work continues on his car following his FP1 incident 👀
And, it’s almost time for FP2! #HungarianGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/taE8qGobQT
— Formula 1 (@F1) July 21, 2023
As per reports, the cost of the front wing and the part of hydraulics [parts that were expected to have been damaged] can reach up to $250,000. Considering the fact tha Helmut Marko and Christian Horner have backed him publicly so often, Perez is expected to improve his form, if he is to repay their faith.
Sergio Perez drifting away from Verstappen
Despite starting the year very strongly, Sergio Perez has drifted away significantly from his teammate Max Verstappen in the championship standings. Verstappen and Perez were once head to head in terms of wins this year. Both drivers had two wins each heading into the fifth round of the campaign.
Hopes of challenging Verstappen for the world title have faded away. Perez is currently 99 points behind the 25-year-old in the standings. This is added to the fact that Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton are right behind him, eyeing the P2 spot.
In the end, the Red Bull driver’s FP1 crash will surely not help the team. They were expecting a flawless outing, with upgrades set to bolster the performance of their already dominant car. However, this $250,000 shunt will surely spoil the morale on Perez’s side of the garage.
