Perez hints at Red Bull error in ‘total disaster’ of Brazilian GP

Sergio Perez labelled his São Paulo Grand Prix as a “total disaster” following a Red Bull error on the grid.

The initial start was aborted due to Lance Stroll’s stranded Aston Martin. With the ‘start aborted’ sign flashing on the gantry over the start-finish line, pole-sitter Lando Norris pulled away believing an extra formation lap had been called.

This was wrong, resulting in mechanics entering the grid for the actual aborted start procedure, where drivers are allowed to change tyres if they wish. 

Perez, who started from 12th, explained how a rare Red Bull trackside error meant he started the race on cold tyres, which helped induce a first-lap spin before finishing in 11th.

“It was a disaster because we didn’t know at the time that we could change tyres until the very last minute – and there was no time to change them,” Perez told media including RacingNews365.

“We started the race with very cold tyres and then, as there was no one ahead of me, I went into a wall of water, so the start was a total disaster.

“We were making progress, but unfortunately, we pitted at the red flag, and then at the restart, the visibility was zero, but we were making some progress.

“We came all the way up to Liam [Lawson], and we touched a bit in Turn 1, and then I went straight at Turn 4 and lost the position to Lewis [Hamilton]. 

“It was a total disaster and nothing really worked.”