Sergio Perez explains that he made a gross mistake at the start of the Miami GP due to poor grip, but to avoid a collision with Max Verstappen, he had to release the brakes, which resulted in the loss of several positions.
At the start of the “Grand Prix” race, Perez blocked the wheels, narrowly avoiding a collision with the other “Red Bull” driver Verstappen and the two “Ferrari” drivers. The Mexican explains that he had a very good start, but the asphalt lacked the grip to be able to brake.
“First of all, I had a good start, but Charles Leclair had a very bad start,” says Perez. “There was no traction outside of the ideal trajectory, and as a result I locked the wheels. I almost knocked Max off the track, so I had to release the brakes and lose the position to Oscar Piastri. As soon as I saw that Max was too close, I released the brake pedal and went straight. Unlucky, but otherwise this race lacked speed. Just couldn’t get it. You have to work on it and try to understand why and what this problem was.”
Although Verstappen was in the lead until the tire change, Perez admits that overall the McLaren team was faster at the Miami circuit. Due to a lucky coincidence, Lando Norris was able to keep the lead after the pit stop, which he made while the safety car was already on the track, but before that he drove closely behind Perez for some time.
“Already in the qualification they were very strong,” says Perez. “I think they just messed up in qualifying and couldn’t get the soft tires to work. But I think they were the fastest all weekend, while we were a little behind. Lando put a lot of pressure on me until the pit stop.”
