Sergio Perez explains why ‘unfortunate’ Lewis Hamilton deserves Dutch GP penalty

Wrong place, wrong time? Sergio Perez doesn’t feel Lewis Hamilton was being malicious by impeding his fast lap in Q1.

Hamilton has now been confirmed to have a grid penalty, dropping three places for Sunday’s Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort after being found to have impeded the Red Bull driver.

Sergio Perez: ‘Wrong time, wrong moment’ in Lewis Hamilton impeding

Additional reporting by Sam Cooper.

In the first qualifying session ahead of the Dutch Grand Prix, Sergio Perez was forced to discard a fast lap when, heading into Turn 9, he discovered Lewis Hamilton in his way.

The Red Bull driver was initially furious, coming on the radio to ask, “What the f**k is this idiot doing?!”

He then added, “For worse than that I’ve been penalized, so I don’t expect any less.”

Hamilton was knocked out in Q2, meaning he’ll start the Dutch GP from 12th place. Perez, meanwhile, will start fifth.

Perhaps it was the relative difference in starting order that helped, but by the time he arrived at the media pen after the session had ended, Perez had calmed down.

Speaking to assembled reporters, including PlanetF1.com, about the incident, Perez admitted, “It was just wrong time, wrong moment.

“Lewis was on the racing line, so there was nothing I could do other than fitting another set [of tires], which was very costly in Q3.”

More from Red Bull Racing during the Dutch Grand Prix:

👉 Christian Horner clarifies Red Bull’s Liam Lawson position after Helmut Marko F1 2025 hint

👉 Max Verstappen’s worrying ‘too slow’ Red Bull RB20 verdict with ‘no clear answer’ at Dutch GP

Perez also added that he didn’t feel Hamilton had any chance of getting out of the way.

“He tried his best,” Perez admitted, “but unfortunately, we just ended up in the wrong time, wrong moment.

That all being said, however: Sergio Perez still thinks Hamilton will secure a penalty for his actions.

“The stewards have been really strict this year,” he said.

He then elaborated on a statement he initially made on his team radio, saying, “I’ve got penalties for a lot worse than that, so I do expect him to get a penalty, unfortunately, because I think he did the best he could and probably there should be a little bit more easiness in that regard.

“It is what it is.”

Lewis Hamilton, for his own part, called his session “shocking,” and pinpointed the incident with Perez as being effectively his downfall.

“It all went badly from the moment that situation with Perez happened,” Hamilton said. “I did my best to get out of the way. I was as far to the left as possible, but just timing was bad.”

Read next: Lewis Hamilton summoned before FIA stewards over Sergio Perez quali incident