Perez after qualifying issue: 'Was suddenly a passenger in car'

A difficult weekend for Sergio Perez turned into a dramatic one in qualifying for the Australian GP. The Red Bull Racing driver ran into the gravel trap in Q1. Perez confirmed what he said over the radio after the crash, saying there was more to it than just a braking error.

It was technical problems, which caused Perez to shoot straight into the gravel trap. The Mexican couldn't get his RB19 out of the gravel, so his qualifying was over. At the beginning of the weekend, Perez was still telling the media that he needs to stay consistent to compete against his teammate Max Verstappen for the 2023 title. So the disappointment is understandable.

Speaking to Sky Sports Perez said: "It was really bad. It was a terrible day. We already had this issue in FP3. We thought we had fixed it but obviously, we didn't."

Perez would not comment on what the exact problem is. He does say it hurts mentally. Perez is just one point behind team-mate Verstappen and if everything goes normally for the Dutchman, he will have no chance against his team-mate. Perez's deficit will most likely grow.

"I hope we fix it tomorrow otherwise it will be really difficult to race like this. I don't want to go into too much in detail. I don't think it is worth it for us. We have to work together as a team and make sure we overcome this problem. Minimising the damage will be important," Perez added.