One of the factors that affected Sergio Perez’s performance at the Dutch Grand Prix was an extended pit stop.
The Red Bull driver experienced a delay of 10 seconds, resulting in him losing a position to Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso.
Christian Horner, the head of Red Bull‘s Formula 1 team, acknowledged the error within the technical team and offered his apology to the Mexican driver.
Notably, during the race at the Zandvoort Circuit, both Perez and Max Verstappen expressed concerns about the race strategy.
Horner’s conversation with Checo
Horner communicated with Perez over the radio after the 10-second pit stop on lap 61.
“I apologize, the tires weren’t ready on time due to a last-minute call,” Horner noted.
“We were significantly delayed in the pit lane due to the chaos. Nonetheless, your performance today was excellent and very consistent.”
Pit stop incident
Despite Perez entering the pit lane for his second stop, the tires were not prepared, leading to a delay exceeding 10 seconds.
Subsequent to this pit stop, Checo encountered a spin at Turn 1, which resulted in him losing a position to Fernando Alonso. Then, he secured the third position at the Zandvoort Circuit.
However, a five-second penalty saw him drop to fourth, with Alpine driver Pierre Gasly securing third position.