Christian Horner speaks out after Red Bull are accused of ‘tarnishing Sergio Perez’.
Christian Horner explained the thought process behind Red Bull’s bizarre strategic call which saw Sergio Perez sent off in the second quarter ahead of the Las Vegas Grand Prix.
Perez showed promising pace in the early stages of qualifying, but found himself in a dangerous position in 6th after completing his penultimate lap in Q2.
Despite this, Red Bull decided not to let him go, and when the checkered flag fell, he dropped to 12th and was eliminated early.
The 33-year-old was left confused after hearing the decision not to go as he re-entered the pitlane.
Although Carlos Sainz’s grid penalty moved him up to 11th in the race, it ended up costing him dearly.
The decision to send Perez out early for the final race was explained by team boss Horner in an interview with Sky Sports F1 after qualifying.
He explained: “It went a bit early. We only have three soft tires for qualifying.
He finished the lap a little early to avoid traffic on the last lap with only a tenth of the way to go.
Many fans took to social media to express their displeasure with Red Bull’s strategy.
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Another fan questioned the thought process behind the strategy.
“What was Red Bull Sergio Perez thinking? Please tell me it wasn’t just to keep his wheels soft for tomorrow!”
Asked if Sky Sports F1 was aware of the strategic decision and its plans, Perez said: “We knew from the start that this was our strategy.
“It’s a new song and I noticed it.
There were shortcomings in the first quarter and there was a lot to discuss internally.
It’s going to be an interesting race tomorrow, with a lot going on.”