Credits: IMAGO/ Motorsport Images

The Japanese Grand Prix was a triumphant return to the podium for Max Verstappen as he won the race by over 12 seconds. Sergio Perez completed a 1-2 finish for his team, holding off a challenge from Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz before building an 8-second lead. While the race fetched positive results for Perez, he believes things could have been much better. As quoted by Sky Sports, the Mexican driver believes he “paid the price” at the Japanese Grand Prix by starting in P2 behind his teammate.

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“I think we paid the price a little bit because we were a little bit off balance during that first stint, which meant we couldn’t keep it alive. We had to box and we were undercut by Lando [Norris] and then I had to push too much on that medium stint.” – said Perez.

Perez‘s stint on the mediums saw him pushing his car to the limit in each lap. It took a lot of toll on the driver, the car, and the tires. However, once he switched to the final stint in the hard compound, Perez’s life became much easier. He regained the lost pace from the mediums, which allowed him to take back his position from Lando Norris. It was smooth sailing for the 34-year-old as he kept Sainz in check to secure a comfortable P2 finish.

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Perez might have suffered from starting the race just behind Verstappen, but it also earned him some extra money. He and Christian Horner had a wager on whether Red Bull would secure a 1-2 finish in the Qualifying session in Japan. As Perez secured P2, Horner playfully scolded him for costing him “a few quid.” In response, Perez remarked, “Now you see how to motivate me.” Horner chuckled and replied he always knew it.

A much better outing for Sergio Perez than in 2023

Overall, it was a great outing for Perez, especially compared to what happened the last time he went racing in Suzuka. A turbulent start to the 2023 Japanese GP saw him sandwiched between Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton, which sheared off his front wing. Heading to the pit under a safety car, Perez accidentally passed Alonso, handing him a 5-second penalty.

However, the penalty was incurred after he exited the pitlane, meaning he would serve it the next time he came in. 10 laps later, Perez came in to serve the penalty, but more chaos would follow. On his out lap, Perez crashed into Kevin Magnussen. Red Bull recalled Perez to fix his car, but they had to retire him. Meanwhile, the stewards pinned the blame for the crash on Perez, incurring yet another 5-second penalty. With 13 laps to go, Perez’s retired car returned to serve the penalty.

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On Lap 43, Perez again retired his car, this time for good. Technically, the retiring and the subsequent unretiring of Perez’s car meant it was a pitstop. F1 Management thus declared it the longest pitstop in the sport’s history, lasting for 41 minutes and 26 seconds.