"Maybe he drank tequila last night"- Sergio Perez 'seemed to have fallen asleep' after virtual safety car costing him a podium at 2022 F1 French GP, jokes Red Bull's advisor

Sergio Perez was jumped by George Russell during the Virtual Safety car restart in a move that cost him a podium at the 2022 F1 French GP. While the Mexican driver was distraught at losing his position to the Mercedes driver, Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko saw the funny side of it. He joked that Sergio Perez might have been drinking tequila the night before the race. According to Suddeutsche Zeitung, Marko said:

“Sergio seemed to have fallen asleep at the Virtual Safety Car restart. Maybe he drank tequila last night.”

Sergio Perez detailed the chain of events that led to him losing the podium:

“It was very unfortunate what happened with the Virtual Safety Car. I got the message it was going to end out of Turn 9, so I went for it and then it didn’t end. Then I got the message saying it was going to end through Turn 12. And I was just too close to it."

Perez suggested that the malfunction might not have happened for George Russell as he was able to prepare much better for the restart.

“It seems like George had different information and he was able to prepare better for it [the restart]. I mean, it’s a shame the Virtual Safety Car interfered with the result, to be honest. It shouldn’t be the case, but today it was the case."

Sergio Perez sums up a difficult day at the office in the French GP

After the race, the Mexican summed up his experience of a "difficult race" and hoped he could come back stronger at the Hungarian GP next weekend.

"It was a difficult one out there today. I was off the pace and unfortunately wasn't able to get the podium we wanted. I struggled with tyre management and it was tough to get on top of it."

"I had a close battle with George, but it was a good one. I wish we could have pushed for a 1-2, but Mercedes were very strong and it was difficult to overtake them. There are some bits for us to analyse and hopefully I will recover my pace and come back stronger for Hungary."

The Mexican has not scored a podium since his P2 finish at Silverstone.