Sergio Pérez Blames Bottoming Out for Singapore GP Qualifying Crash

Sergio Pérez has explained the causes of the crash he starred in during the Sprint qualifying of the Singapore Grand Prix. The Mexican Cadillac driver lost control of his car at turn 4 and ended up against the barriers, damaging the front wing and causing a red flag that interrupted the session. Far from looking for excuses, Pérez was clear when describing what happened: "I was attacking hard on my first lap at turn 4 when the rear of the car hit the ground very abruptly, I lost control and ended up against the wall, damaging the front wing".

The incident forced race direction to stop the activity due to the carbon fiber remains that were scattered on the asphalt, on an urban circuit like Marina Bay with walls so close and minimal margins for error, any fragment on the track represents an important risk for the rest of the drivers, Pérez managed to return to the pits by his own means, but the time lost during the repairs seriously compromised his options of advancing in the qualifying.

After replacing the front wing, the Mexican managed to return to track and complete a fast lap, he finished twentieth with a time of 1:36.760 ahead of his teammate Valtteri Bottas and Carlos Sainz: "It was a shame but we managed to complete a decent lap afterwards. We are not too far from where we should be" Pérez noted, hinting that the Cadillac's performance is not as bad as its position in the table suggests.

The Mexican driver trusts that the team can improve during the rest of the weekend: "We are going to concentrate on understanding the car better and improving our race pace for tomorrow" he added. Saturday's Sprint will be a new opportunity to evaluate the Cadillac's behavior in race conditions before the qualifying that will define the starting order of Sunday's Grand Prix.

The result leaves Pérez in the tenth row of the grid for the short race, a position from which he will have to come back if he wants to score points, Cadillac remains the only team on the grid that has not managed to score this season and every race is an opportunity to try to break that drought. The Mexican with his experience and his ability to adapt, is the American team's main asset to achieve it.

The Singapore Sprint is held this Saturday at 11:00 Spain time, 06:00 Argentina time and 03:00 Mexico time, in what will be the first short race in the history of Marina Bay. The Sprint format adds an extra element of difficulty since it reduces the practice sessions and forces the teams to find the right setup in less time.

Pérez faces the Sprint with his sights set on Sunday, aware that the Cadillac has room for improvement, the American team continues looking for its first points of the season and the Mexican trusts that the work done during the weekend will allow a step forward at Marina Bay. For Checo and Cadillac, the objective is clear: learn, improve and take advantage of any opportunity that presents itself on a weekend that promises strong emotions.