Sergio Perez issues apology to Red Bull as disastrous run continues in Canada

Sergio Perez took to social media to issue an apology to his team after a dismal weekend in Montreal. The Mexican racer was eliminated in Q1 for the second successive race before a crash on lap 53 forced him to retire the car.

Heading into the Canadian Grand Prix, Perez had plenty to celebrate. The 34-year-old was handed a new two-year contract extension despite a difficult start to the year, but any optimism surrounding his future was wiped out following another worrying performance in Montreal.

After the race, Checo opted to send a message to his team through social media. He posted: “I’m very sorry for my team, I let them down today. But we will come back no doubt. There’s a very long way to go.”

With 15 Grands Prix remaining in 2024, Perez is right to state that there is a long way to go this season, but with 87 points separating him from team-mate and championship leader Max Verstappen, his pre-season aims of fighting for a maiden title look like little more than a pipe dream.

Dressing down the mistake that ended his race, Perez explained: “I did a mistake going into Turn Six, I just touched the wet patch and once you do that it’s really game over, and unfortunately that’s what happened. Very tough weekend, but I think there is a long season ahead and we will be back to our form that we had earlier.”

While some have theorised that Perez’s new contract may have allowed the Mexican to relax, Christian Horner revealed ahead of race day in Canada that the structure of his extension is a one-plus-one deal. This means that if he fails to improve his performances before the end of the 2025 campaign, he will be under pressure once again.

Helmut Marko has pinned Checo’s qualifying struggles on a mental factor. “It’s not the car, you can see that with Max. I think it’s more psychological,” he told ServusTV. “When the conditions change, he finds it much more difficult. But the fact that it’s already the third time is painful.”

While Perez will be under pressure in Barcelona in two weeks, he can take some confidence from the fact that the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya should suit the RB20 much more than recent tracks in Monte Carlo and Montreal. However, with that performance gain will come greater expectations that the Mexican needs to manage.