BREAKING: Red Bull’s Sergio Perez loses control and crashes into a wall at the Hungarian Grand Prix, just five minutes after practice, leaving his car wrecked as Daniel Ricciardo threatens his future
- Sergio Pérez lost control early in the first qualifying session at the Hungarian GP
- The Red Bull driver made a mistake, crashed at turn five and caused a red flag
- Pressure mounts with ex-Red Bull ace Daniel Ricciardo returning to the grid
Sergio Pérez crashed early in the first practice session of the Hungarian GP and caused a red flag.
After he sank his left wheels into the grass entering turn five, his car spun and crashed into the barrier, leaving the Red Bull’s left front end damaged. The track marshals had to remove the car.
The rookie’s mistake increases the pressure on the Mexican with just two races left before the summer break after Daniel Ricciardo returned to the grid with AlphaTauri.
Former Red Bull man Ricciardo said on Thursday that “the dream is a Red Bull seat”, while Perez, currently Max Verstappen’s teammate in the leading F1 team, has insisted his future is in his own hands.
Over the team radio, he said: ‘I can’t believe this. I caught the grass on the outside I think.
Pérez sits second in the Drivers’ Championship but has only finished on the podium in one of the last five races, while Verstappen has won all five.
Sergio Pérez crashed at turn five early in the first practice session at the Hungarian GP
His mistake raised a red flag, leading to the temporary closure of proceedings earlier in the weekend.
The track marshals had to remove Pérez’s damaged car while other drivers returned to the pits.
Red Bull brought its second major upgrade of the season this weekend and won’t be impressed with the damage.
The pressure is mounting on Perez after recent sub-par performances. Checo hasn’t even made it to Q3 since the Miami GP; there have been five races since then.
Until his recent fall, he had been a solid performer in F1’s dominant team. He won two of the first five races this season, finishing second in two more and fifth in one.
But since Miami, where he finished second, he has only managed one podium finish in five races, with Mercedes, Aston Martin, Ferrari, McLaren and Alpine taking the top three spots.
Ricciardo has yet to appear this season. He was named Red Bull’s third driver after leaving McLaren after a poor 2022 season, but has now replaced Nyck de Vries, who props up the table with zero points, in Red Bull’s secondary AlphaTauri team.
The pressure is mounting on Perez as lackluster qualifying performances have hampered results.
Daniel Ricciardo is back in F1 in the Red Bull AlphaTauri power team and wants to get back on top
Fans welcomed the Australian after he replaced 28-year-old Nyck de Vries.
