In Melbourne, Australia, Sergio Perez, driving for Red Bull, has incurred a penalty in the Australian Grand Prix qualifying, dropping him from third to sixth on the grid. This penalty came after he impeded Nico Hulkenberg during the qualifying session.
During one of Hulkenberg’s hot laps in the initial qualifying session, he encountered Perez’s slower-moving Red Bull at Turn 13, causing him to miss the cut for the next session. Despite this, Perez managed to progress to Q3 and secured the third fastest time, trailing his teammate Max Verstappen on pole position by 0.359 seconds.
As a result of the penalty, Lando Norris will now start third, Charles Leclerc fourth, and Oscar Piastri fifth on the grid. The stewards of the Australian Grand Prix determined that Perez’s team failed to adequately warn him of Hulkenberg’s approach on the track behind him.
According to the stewards, Hulkenberg was on a fast lap approaching Turn 13 when Perez, on an out lap, was positioned at the apex of the turn, causing Hulkenberg to deviate from the racing line to avoid him. The stewards noted that Perez was only alerted to Hulkenberg’s presence one second before he arrived, which was too late to prevent impeding him.
While acknowledging the challenging circumstances faced by the team and driver during the Q1 session, the stewards concluded that Perez’s actions constituted unnecessary obstruction and thus imposed a three-grid-place penalty, aligning with precedents from similar cases.
