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F1 fans were left frustrated when Red Bull driver Sergio Perez escaped a penalty for potentially jumpstarting the start during the 2024 F1 Saudi Arabian GP on Saturday (March 9).
The Mexican driver started the race from P3 behind his teammate Max Verstappen and Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc on the track. But he quickly made the move to P2 after overtaking Leclerc after just a few laps.
However, there has been a video floating on the internet where it is visible that Sergio Perez wasn't steady during the start and jumpstarted the race.
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Speaking about the same on F1 TV, commentator Jolyon Palmer said:
"He’s actually rolling forward which you are not allowed to do. You have to be stationary and then Checo gets a great launch. That, in theory, is also a jumpstart from Perez which went unnoticed, though it was within FIA tolerance.
"In lower levels, you’ll have a marshall standing on the track, and they’ll spot a car moving and he might get done for that. Strange in Formula 1 that you can have a car rolling forward, getting that Inertia rolling before you drop the clutch.”
F1 fans took to social media to give their reactions to Sergio Perez's start, with one fan claiming that if Lewis Hamilton was in his place he would face a harsher punishment, saying:
"If Lewis did that he would be demoted to f2. Ext race."
Here are some more reactions from X:
Some fans pointed out that his mistake was worse than Lando Norris' similar error:
Sergio Perez analyzes the P2 finish during the Saudi Arabian GP
Sergio Perez stated that he was delighted to get a second successive P2 this season after his podium finish in Bahrain.
In his post-race interview, the Red Bull driver claimed that he had a great start, saying:
"Yeah, we definitely made some good progress. I think it was a shame that we just qualified out of the front row because we had a great start. Unfortunately, Charles really kept it together and we couldn't get through.
"It was a nice fight then later on. And it was quite a compromised race, I'll say, with the Safety car there so early. It was a very long stint on the Hard. And it was tricky at times, especially in the beginning."
It would be fascinating to see if Sergio Perez can challenge Max Verstappen for a race win in the upcoming races and stake his claim for a title run in 2024.
