Sergio Perez says his clash with Alexander Albon over the final Formula 1 point in the 2019 Hungarian Grand Prix was “just unnecessary”.
The Racing Point and Toro Rosso drivers came together at the Hungaroring’s first corner in the closing stages of the race, which was won by Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton.
Albon was able to get by and went on to take his second top 10 finish in two races, but Perez later complained that Albon “crashed into me”.
When asked about his thoughts on his race, Perez said: “It was a very good start, very good first lap. Managed to get some good positioning.
“In the first stage we were just managing and then for a very aggressive strategy we managed to undercut [Romain] Grosjean and [Nico] Hulkenberg.
“Then towards the end, Albon came very fast and crashed into me, damaged my suspension and the last three or four laps were very challenging and [I] finished P11.
“Great race, we gave it everything, hopefully the second half of the season will be promising for us.
“[But] the contact was very clear, there was some damage into my car.
“The [FIA] should let us race, but the contact is unnecessary from my point of view. I don’t think they have to do anything about it, but the contact was just unnecessary.”
Albon outlined his thoughts that Perez had closed the door, but reckoned the contact was “nothing serious”.
“We had the run on him, and he left a space on the inside, so I went for it, and then he closed the space, but to be honest he still left me enough space,” Albon told Sky F1.
“I thought the move was done, and then he turned in on the apex when I was next to him.
“We had a bit of a clatter, but nothing serious. It’s that thing where you come out of the corner and you’re like ‘I hope my steering’s straight’ – and it was, so it was OK.”
Source: Read Full Article