Perez issues statement after learning punishment for calling stewards ‘a joke’
Sergio Perez has issued a statement admitting that he ‘owed the stewards more respect’ in Abu Dhabi. He was called to visit them in the aftermath of the Grand Prix to discuss comments made on the team radio regarding his five-second time penalty.
The Red Bull driver was issued a time penalty during the closing stages of Sunday’s season finale after he made contact with McLaren’s Lando Norris down at Turn 6. Perez was attempting an audacious move to snatch P4 from the young Brit but came out of the battle worse off.
Perez lunged from some way back, bumping wheels with Norris’ McLaren as he failed to slow the car down in time to reach the apex. This contact sent his rival onto the run-off area where he managed to retain the position.
The 33-year-old managed to eventually make his way past but was handed a five-second time penalty for his troubles. He later moved beyond Charles Leclerc and George Russell to take second place, but that reprimand from the stewards relegated him to P4 at the chequered flag.
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This decision didn’t go down too kindly with Perez, who had labelled the call to hand him a penalty as ‘a joke’ in a team radio conversation with his race engineer. This comment earned him a trip to the stewards’ room after the race was over.
In a statement to his fans on Instagram, Perez said: “This sport brings out the best in all of us and also the passion. Tonight I spoke with that passion and adrenaline after losing a podium.
“It’s hard always having a radio live, not most sports have that. But I owed the stewards more respect, we all have a job to do and I respect the job they have to do in high pressure situations. Onto 2024.”
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Following their investigation the stewards opted to hand Perez a formal warning. In their statement, they explained: “The Stewards note that they are obviously conflicted in this matter as they were the subject of the radio statements and that normally this would be referred to the next panel of Stewards however as this is the final event of the season, the matter needed to be dealt with here.
“The driver made a genuine and sincere apology to each of the Stewards and explained that he made the comments in the heat of the moment and did not consider the fact that they would be broadcast, and the impact of that.”
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