Lando Norris blasts ‘careless’ Sergio Perez following Abu Dhabi GP collision

Lando Norris was less than impressed with the driving of Sergio Perez, branding him “careless” as they banged wheels in Abu Dhabi.

Starting from P9 on the grid, Perez had another recovery mission on his mind and was making solid progress, managing to go longer to give himself a tyre life advantage for the final stint as he chased a podium finish.

And he would have pulled it off, if it were not for an incident with Norris that cost him dearly.

Lando Norris brands Sergio Perez “careless”

Perez would give Norris’ McLaren a whack as he went up the inside at Turn 6, forcing Norris over the run-off area.

The stewards took a dim view of that and handed Perez a five-second penalty, meaning P2 on the road became a P4 finish as he missed out on the podium.

And in Norris’ opinion, that was a deserved penalty for Perez, who hit him even though he had tried to make the pass simple.

“I mean, I tried to let the guy go and he crashed into me,” Norris told Sky F1.

“I don’t know what he was doing. A bit careless to be honest.”

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P5 was the final result for Norris as McLaren saw off the Aston Martin threat to secure P4 in the Constructors’ Championship.

Norris though felt it was a “not great” race for him, as he lacked the final few tenths, which he had expected to have, in order to challenge the Red Bulls, Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Mercedes’ George Russell ahead.

“I just expected a little bit more in terms of pace today but we didn’t have it,” Norris admitted. “So a little bit of a shame.

“We just needed that little bit more pace to be able to attack the guys ahead. It wasn’t like they were much quicker, just a tenth a lap, two-tenths a lap, and that was enough for them to stay ahead.

“So tough, but still happy because I didn’t think we could have done a lot more today. We lost out a bit in the pit stop. Could I have been ahead of George? Possibly, but that wouldn’t have really changed too much.”

P6 is Norris’ final position in the F1 2023 Drivers’ Championship.

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