Perez's Bahrain Gp: What Went Wrong?

Sergio Perez's Red Bull debut at the Bahrain Grand Prix in 2021 almost ended before it began when his car suddenly lost power during the formation lap, forcing him to start from the pit lane. However, he managed to finish fifth overall, scoring valuable points for Red Bull. The following year, Perez and his teammate Max Verstappen retired from the Bahrain Grand Prix in the closing laps due to technical issues, marking a disappointing start to the season for Red Bull.

Perez's car shut down during the formation lap

During the formation lap of the 2021 Bahrain Grand Prix, Sergio Perez's car suddenly shut down, causing the race start to be delayed. The Red Bull driver described the incident as follows: "In the middle of the corner, everything just shut down. I was about to jump out of the car and all of a sudden I start to listen to Jonathan. I turn on the car and kept going. It was about getting the ignition back. I couldn't hear anything, I couldn't hear the engineers and then it went back, so that was good."

Perez's car lost power, and he was unable to communicate with his team as they sent repeated "radio check" messages that went unanswered. Fortunately, he was able to restore power and get his car running again by taking the steering wheel off and putting it back on. However, this issue forced him to start the race from the pit lane, compromising his Red Bull debut.

Perez, who was due to start the race from the 11th grid slot, expressed his surprise at being able to get his car running again: "I don't know what happened, really. I was in the middle of the corner and everything went off. I lost engine, I lost ignition, I thought that that was it, and all of a sudden I started to hear Jonathan [Wheatley, Sporting Director] on the radio and I was like 'whoa'. This thing woke up and I turned on the engine and I had to start from the pit lane."

Despite the setback, Perez managed to finish the race in fifth place, earning valuable points for Red Bull. His quick thinking and composure under pressure were praised by the team, who were impressed by his ability to recover from the tricky situation. RBR chief engineer Paul Monaghan acknowledged the challenge of the situation, stating, "You've got no radio comms, we can't tell him to do the ignition reset and he did it for us."

He restarted the car and drove into the pit lane

Sergio Perez's car suddenly stopped working during the warm-up lap of the Bahrain Grand Prix, causing the race to be delayed. The Red Bull driver was preparing to line up in the 11th grid slot for the first race of the season when his car suddenly came to a standstill. Fortunately, he was able to restart the car and continue the race, but he had to start from the pit lane, compromising his Red Bull debut.

Perez described the incident, saying:

> "In the middle of the corner, everything just shut down. I was about to jump out of the car and all of a sudden I start to listen to Jonathan. I turn on the car and kept going. It was about getting the ignition back. I couldn't hear anything, I couldn't hear the engineers and then it went back, so that was good."

Due to the issue, Perez had to start the race from the pit lane, as required by the rules. Despite being last on the first lap, he managed to finish fifth overall, scoring valuable points for Red Bull.

Perez's quick thinking and composure under pressure allowed him to save his debut race with the team and demonstrate his resilience and adaptability as a driver.

Perez finished fifth in the race

Sergio Perez's Red Bull F1 debut in Bahrain did not get off to a good start. As he was preparing to line up on the 11th grid slot, his car suddenly came to a standstill, causing a delay to the start of the race. The Mexican driver managed to get going again, but he had to start the race from the pit lane, compromising his debut.

Perez's car shut off during the formation lap, leaving him with no power and unable to communicate with his team. Fortunately, he was able to restore power by taking the steering wheel off and putting it back on, allowing him to hear the pit wall. However, this issue meant that he was last on the first lap.

Despite this setback, Perez managed to finish fifth overall, scoring valuable points for Red Bull. He worked his way back up the order, starting from the back of the grid, and was pleased to learn more about his car as the race progressed.

Perez expressed his surprise at being able to recover to a fifth-place finish after the car failure on the formation lap. He admitted that he didn't expect to start the race at all, and he was pleased with the pace of the car. The Red Bull driver also acknowledged the need to improve his driving style to better suit the way the RB16B handles.

He described the race as a very low day for Red Bull

Sergio Perez described the Bahrain Grand Prix as a "very low day" for Red Bull after both he and his teammate Max Verstappen retired from podium places in the closing laps. Verstappen had been challenging for the win until the Safety Car restart, where a problem with his Red Bull saw him passed by Carlos Sainz before pulling into retirement. Perez was then sitting in third before his car suddenly seized on the final lap, spinning him out of the race.

With Red Bull leaving the season-opening race with no points on the board, Perez said it had been a "difficult" start to the year. "It's very frustrating," said Perez in response to a question from RaceFans. "It's a very low day for our team. It's a difficult start to the new year, but the positive is that we are quick – we just have to figure it out, make sure we are more reliable and understand the issues. We've got some pace to find to get closer to the Ferrari."

Perez explained that his retirement was likely caused by a fuel pump problem. "Basically just at the hairpin on the final lap, it locked completely, the rear," he explained. "So it just died." Like his teammate Verstappen, Perez had detected that all was not right with his RB18 long before his car suddenly failed, explaining that he developed problems "a good five laps or so, when Lewis [Hamilton] was behind" before his retirement.

Perez felt that he was on for an "easy" podium in the closing stages of the race, only for technical issues to take him out of the running. Heading into the final lap, as Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton chased him down, Perez spun out at Turn 1 and radioed in an engine fault, marking a double DNF for Red Bull in the season-opening race.

Red Bull are yet to confirm the precise cause of Perez and Verstappen's issues, but the Mexican was left to rue a missed podium finish. "We were easily on the podium, he said. "We held back Lewis, which was tough, as he was very fast at the end, so it's a bit of a shame that we didn't get the result."

With the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix just seven days away, Perez is hoping that Red Bull can find a quick solution to their issues. "We are a great team," Perez stressed. "I really believe in the team and I'm sure we'll get to the bottom of it. It's a very disappointing day, it's a disappointing start for our season, but we know how long Formula 1 years can be."

Perez felt he could have been on the podium

Sergio Perez felt he could have been on the podium after a disappointing end to the Bahrain Grand Prix in 2022. Perez, driving for Red Bull, was on course for a third-place finish in the season-opening race, but technical issues struck on the final lap, causing him to spin out at Turn 1. This marked a double DNF for Red Bull, as Perez's teammate Max Verstappen had also retired from the race earlier due to reliability issues.

Perez expressed his disappointment, stating that he and his team were "easily on the podium" and that they had managed to hold back Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes, who was very fast at the end. He acknowledged the challenges ahead of the upcoming Saudi Arabian Grand Prix just seven days later, but remained confident in his team's ability to find solutions to their issues.

The issues that plagued Perez and his teammate during the race were attributed to reliability woes, with Red Bull still working to identify the precise causes. Perez himself suspected a fuel pump problem, noting that he had developed problems "a good five laps or so" before his retirement, when Hamilton was behind him.

Despite the setbacks, Perez remained positive about his performance and the potential of his team. He acknowledged the pace of his car and expressed his determination to work hard with the engineers to get up to speed as quickly as possible.

Frequently asked questions