Christian Horner frustrated by Sergio Perez’s early Austrian GP qualifying exit – ‘just stay within the white lines’

Sergio Perez exits Austrian GP Qualifying in Q2 after having three laps deleted for breaching track limits; Christian Horner frustrated Perez did not copy Max Verstappen by adding more restraint to driving; Verstappen starts Sunday’s race on pole, Perez from P15

Christian Horner could not hide his frustration after Sergio Perez suffered another early exit in qualifying at the Austrian GP.

The Mexican failed to get into Q3 for the fourth consecutive race in the dominant Red Bull after having three laps deleted for track limit infringements during the second part of Friday’s qualifying session.

Max Verstappen also had lap times deleted in Q1 and Q2 but made sure his follow-up laps kept part of his car within the white lines through all corners. The Dutchman will start on pole again, Perez will be lining up 15th on Sunday.

“He’s got the pace today, he’s got a car that was easily capable of being on the first or second row, he was matching Max’s times, stay in the white lines!” Horner told Sky Sports F1.

“It was strike one, strike two, ‘Checo just stay in the white lines!’ strike three, and that was it.

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George Russell and Sergio Perez are out at qualifying at the Austrian Grand Prix.

“Just hugely frustrating because he could have he could have been there, he could have done it. That’s the frustration. It’s fantastic that we got the pole, but it feels not complete.

“At least [Max] responded to ‘stay in the white lines’ – he did that so he built a conservatism into his laps to make sure that he had a wheel inside the line. There was a little bit more time in the car in that last sector if he hadn’t have gone for it. It was about driving with a bit of restraint.

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Red Bull driver Sergio Perez reflects on a frustrating qualifying session after he was dropped out in Q2 after a deleted lap time.

“It was crystal clear [that it was his last opportunity]. It’s hugely frustrating. The frustrating thing is we know he can do it, he did a 4.9 on that lap, he was three hundredths off Max. He could have been four tenths slower and still been in.

“So Q2, that’s not the time to be doing it. That was the frustrating thing because he could have done it today.

“It is the same for everybody, there’s a car ahead which is not going to have helped but then you build in a little more margin.

“It’s annoying because we know he could have been there.

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Max Verstappen got his fourth successive pole position around Red Bull Ring, with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz qualifying second and third respectively.

“The most pressure he’s under, is the pressure he puts him under himself. Today he had the pace, Practice One he was right there, the lap times he was doing, he was tenth for tenth with Max today. So that’s the annoying thing, that’s the frustration. He can do it.

“It’s just a great shame because I think this would have really kickstarted things for him and of course, the frustration for us as a team is now we have two Ferraris a little closer versus one Red Bull with Checo out of position.”

More to follow…