Sergio Perez has incurred a 5-place grid penalty for tomorrow’s German Grand Prix, after the Mexican driver was deemed to have impeded both Kimi Raikkonen and Fernando Alonso throughout Q2. He initially qualified 12th, however he will start tomorrow’s race from 17th on the grid.
The Lotus of Kimi Raikkonen was heard complaining about Sergio Perez during the qualifying hour, when Perez exited the pit lane as Raikkonen prepared to negotiate turn 1 in the tricky wet conditions. Although the Mexican driver has finished on the podium twice so far this season, he has endured a frustrating run of qualifying results.
“It is such a shame.” Explained Sergio Perez, “It looked really promising for us until the rain set in. After I changed to soft tyres I ended up second fastest in Q1. Then we went out late on intermediates in Q2 and I was stuck in traffic. I had cars in front of me, but could not back off as there were some behind me as well.”
Sergio Perez has become the fourth driver to receive a 5-place grid penalty, after Romain Grosjean, Nico Rosberg and Mark Webber were issued penalties due to gearbox changes prior to the qualifying hour. Perez’s team-mate Kamui Kobayashi suffered an equally uncompetitive qualifying result, ending qualifying in only 13th position.
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