Horner bummed for Perez: 'He was controlling the race beautifully'

Max Verstappen crossed the line first at the Saudi Arabia Grand Prix after an intense fight against Charles Leclerc. However, it was Sergio Perez who seemed to have the race well under control, but he lost the lead due to the safety car. Christian Horner balks for his driver.

After a surprising pole position on Saturday, Perez managed to maintain his lead at the start. The Mexican seemed to have the race well under control and immediately managed to make a reasonable gap towards the Ferrari of Leclerc.

Unfortunately Perez dropped back to P4 after he drove into the pit lane just before the safety car. This allowed Leclerc to take over the lead from him with a free pit stop. In the end, the Red Bull driver also had to let the podium pass him by.

"It’s so unlucky for Checo. He was in the lead off that pole position, and he was controlling the race beautifully. We elected to pit on our predetermined lap, we could see that Charles was within undercut range, but then unfortunately on his out lap came the safety car. Sometimes they can work for you, sometimes they work against you. Unfortunately for Checo, he lost out on that occasion", Horner says in the F1 Post-Race Show.

Perez was very disappointed after the race, but the Mexican was happy with the result for his team. With the first pole position of his F1 career, Perez can certainly head towards the Australian Grand Prix with a positive feeling.