Perez defends Red Bull call after letting his team down

Sergio Perez will start the Canadian Grand Prix in P13 after crashing in qualifying in wet conditions.

Sergio Perez has offered his apologies to Red Bull after his crash in qualifying in Canada put him out of the second session.

The Mexican was one of a handful of drivers to test the waters, so to speak, on the Inters having completed Q1 on the Wets, with another being Alex Albon.

The Williams driver sailed off the circuit at Turn Six and slammed into the wall, damaging his front wing before finding reverse and making his way back to the pits.

Perez, however, was not so fortunate, locking the front going into Turn Three and booking a one-way ticket across the grass and straight into the Tecpro barrier.

The Mexican’s front wing wedged itself in the wall and, although he was able to find reverse, he could not get out of the barrier, and ended up qualifying P13.

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While he is disappointed at the mistake, the 32-year-old acknowledged that his attentions must now switch to the race on Sunday.

“[It was] very frustrating, a bad day for myself,” said Perez.

“I let my team down and I am very sorry, but now I need to focus on tomorrow and try to minimise the damage.

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“I got reverse in, but the front wing got stuck beneath the Tecpro and the marshal wouldn’t help me to wheel back.”

Despite the crash, Perez affirms that it was the right choice to switch onto the Inters as the track had dried significantly throughout Q1.

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“It was tricky to get a clean lap,” said the Mexican.

“There was a lot of traffic but yeah, I think the second session on the inters was the right thing to do and unfortunately, that meant – I think we had a good car to be able to fight them back.

“Yeah, it was the right decision, especially with the track on the drying side, it was the right one.”

Saturday’s qualifying session was the first time either Red Bull car has been knocked out of qualifying before Q3 this season.