The Mexican faces a battle to return to the points on the Lusail International Circuit. Sergio Perez starts the Qatar GP with pit lane and a 10-second penalty after a major overhaul of his Red Bull in park closed conditions.
The Mexican had to start 13th after a difficult qualifying session at the Lusail International Circuit on Friday, although he had better results in the SQ3 track race. Battling for points with Haas’ Nico Hulkenberg and Alpine’s Esteban Ocon, the trio collided, leaving Perez and the Frenchman in the gravel – with the Red Bull extensively damaged. In an attempt to self-correct the RB19 for the race, Red Bull mirrored Willaim’s offense at Suzuka, where the team rebuilt Logan Sargeant’s car after it was deemed a new chassis was needed following a qualifying crash.
A report from an FIA technical representative stated: “Yesterday evening, the Oracle Red Bull Racing team worked on car number 11, chassis 02, two hours after the checkered flag in the Sprint. Chassis 01 was irreparably damaged in a sprint accident. .” Chassis 01 and all other components fitted to it during the sprint covered on time at 23:08, two hours after the checkered flag at the end of the sprint.
“Since chassis 02 was assembled without inspection in more than one configuration containing a survival compartment as defined in SR article 27.2, it must be considered the third car available to the competitor.”
Sargeant was found to have breached Parc fermé rules in Japan and was given a pit start and a 10 second penalty.
