Perez explains what caused dramatic Turn 1 moment in Miami

Sergio ‘Checo’ Perez has given an explanation for his dramatic lock-up at Turn 1 at the start of the Miami Grand Prix, which saw him nearly make contact with his Red Bull teammate Max Verstappen.

The Incident

After a slow getaway from Charles Leclerc, who started in P2, Carlos Sainz and Checo surged ahead, battling for the position. Meanwhile, Verstappen maintained his lead from pole position. However, as Checo dived inside Leclerc, he locked up his tyres and overshot the first corner, narrowly avoiding a collision with Verstappen. This incident dropped Checo back to fifth, while Leclerc reclaimed second.

Checo’s Explanation

Checo attributed the lock-up to a lack of grip off-line, referencing a similar incident with Lewis Hamilton during the Sprint race on Saturday:

“As soon as I dived [to the] inside of Charles, I could see as soon as I hit the brakes there was no grip at all, like we saw yesterday with Lewis. Off-line here, especially into Turn 1, there’s no grip, zero grip down there, and I did struggle quite a bit unfortunately.”

Race Performance

The Mexican driver struggled to find the same pace he had shown in previous races this season, finishing the race in P5, later promoted to P4 due to a penalty for Carlos Sainz. He explained that his car felt “a bit off-balance” and that the team would need to review the data to understand the issue better.

Championship Standings

Despite the challenging race, Checo maintained his second place in the drivers’ standings with 103 points. However, Charles Leclerc is just five points behind in third place, increasing the pressure on the Red Bull driver.

Verstappen’s Frustration

Max Verstappen, who led the race until a late Safety Car period, expressed his frustration at finishing second. He mentioned the various factors that didn’t go his way during the race, including a collision with a bollard at Turn 14 on Lap 4, which caused damage to his car. Despite this, he remains at the top of the drivers’ standings with 114 points, with Leclerc in second on 104 points.

Lando Norris’ Maiden Win

The Miami Grand Prix saw Lando Norris take his maiden F1 victory, moving him up to fourth in the championship standings with 50 points.

The next race on the calendar is the Spanish Grand Prix on May 11th, the first of three consecutive race weekends.