The stewards have reached a decision on the fate of George Russell and Sergio Perez after the pair were placed under investigation following qualifying for the Brazilian Grand Prix. The former was handed a two-place grid penalty for his involvement.
Russell and Perez were two of four drivers to be caught out by the new pit-lane exit rules on Friday afternoon with the Alpine duo of Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon also finding their way into the stewards’ bad books for infringements during qualifying.
The Mercedes star was one of the leading causes of the regulation changes with he and Max Verstappen both stopping at the end of the pit lane in Mexico City last weekend, prompting a furious reaction from other teams and drivers, and causing the FIA to step in and introduce new rules for the trip to Brazil.
Explaining the changes that the drivers will adhere to in Brazil, race director Niels Wittich stated: “As per article 33.4 of the Formula 1 Sporting Regulations, drivers are not allowed to go unnecessarily slow, that includes stopping a car in the fast lane of the pitlane.
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“During Shootout and Qualifying, drivers may create a gap between the pit exit lights and the SC2 line. Any driver who wishes to do so must drive as far to the left as possible to allow other drivers to pass them on the right side of the pit exit road.”
Despite falling foul of the latest regulations, Perez was more frustrated with his pace on the critical Q3 flying lap. Red Bull’s under-fire second driver looked like a legitimate threat to team-mate Verstappen during the first two parts of qualifying, but could only manage a P9 finish when it mattered.
“We were just incredibly unlucky today,” Perez said when asked about another disappointing qualifying finish. “I should have been on the front row. My lap was very close to Max’s until the last corner, and I found Piastri so I had to back off my lap. It meant that I was just position-nowhere. It’s very unfortunate because I felt like we had a lot better.”
Checo went into this weekend with a slender 20-point lead over Lewis Hamilton in the Drivers’ Championship standings and with the seven-time world champion bettering him with a P5 qualifying finish, that advantage could come down even more on Sunday.
