Verstappen and Perez hits out at red flag procedure in Q2
Having endured a shock exit in the middle segment of qualifying at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix, Red Bull drivers Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez hit out at the way the red flag was deployed following Aston Martin race Lance Stroll's accident.
The second qualifying segment featured two stoppages, with one coming following a mid-session crash for Carlos Sainz. Although the session could be restarted, there was another incident when Aston Martin driver Lance Stroll hit the barriers in the dying moments of Q2.
With only a few seconds left on the clock, the race control elected not to restart the session as no one would have been able to cross the start-finish line in time. This late incident had huge consequences though, as it resulted in both Red Bulls being unable to improve, with Max Verstappen finding himself down in P12 and Sergio Perez in P13.
Speaking to Sky Sports after the session, Verstappen, who will start only from P17 due to his engine-related five-place penalty, said he did not understand why there had been a delay in stopping the session.
“If a guy goes straight into the wall, it is a straight red,” he said. “I don't understand why you need to take 30, 40 seconds for a red flag to come out...”
The Dutchman continued: “I don’t care in all honesty, it is so stupid to talk about. It’s ridiculous.”
His team-mate Sergio Perez looked also fairly competitive in the tricky wet conditions at the start of qualifying, but he was also caught out by the red flag incident caused by Aston Martin driver Lance Stroll.
“It was a bit of a shame what happened with the red flag out there. But it is what it is, and we unfortunately did not get the lap when we needed it, and it is what really matters.
“It is gonna be a tough race from here. Having twelve cars ahead of us, it will be a tricky one," concluded the Mexican driver.
