Sergio Perez’s elimination in the first stage of qualifying at the Las Vegas Grand Prix has become iconic, but for all the wrong reasons.
As if being eliminated in Q1 wasn’t humiliating enough, further salt was rubbed in the 34-year-old’s wounds in Nevada.
With three races remaining in the 2024 F1 season and 49 points behind leaders McLaren in the Constructor Standings, Red Bull desperately needed big qualifying performances from Perez and Max Verstappen in Vegas.
But those plans were foiled in the very first session.
Verstappen had no such qualms getting through Q1, as he finished with the third-fastest time behind Mercedes pair Lewis Hamilton and George Russell.
But Perez, who has one of the fastest cars on the grid, finished an embarrassing 16th, which meant he was eliminated from qualifying.
“Unbelievable,” Perez said on his team radio.
“It just doesn’t get any better. I couldn’t find any grip.”
Sky Sports commentator David Croft described it as ‘another poor, poor night in qualifying’ for the Mexican.
Joining Perez back in the garage after Q1 was Lance Stroll (20th), Valtteri Bottas (19th), Alex Albon (18th) and Fernando Alonso (17th).
Yet Perez’s early exit was by far the most notable.
To make his evening worse, the Las Vegas Sphere then displayed a video of a smirking Perez giving a thumbs down after he’d been knocked out of qualifying.
Perez ultimately trolled himself after his qualifying failure[/caption]
“That’s a bit brutal, isn’t it,” F1 TV commentator Alex Jacques said.
Former British F1 driver David Coulthard responded: “That was probably meant to be amusing when he filmed that.”
Jacques replied: “He won’t be filming that again in the off-season, will he?”
“Well, will he be filming anything in the off-season?” Coulthard responded.
Perez’s qualifying mishap was another bruising chapter in a season to forget for the Mexican.
After a bright start in which he secured four podium appearances in the first five races, Perez has failed to land a top three finish since April.
In fact, he has not even finished higher than 6th at any race beyond the Miami Grand Prix, which was held in May.
Perez’s Q1 exit was his fifth of the season and the eighth time he’d failed to make Q3.
It was George Russell who snared pole position for the Las Vegas GP, with Carlos Sainz joining him on the front row.
Alpine’s Pierre Gasly pulled off a sensational Q3 to qualify third, with Charles Leclerc – who unleashed an X-rated rant after qualifying – will start fourth.
Verstappen, who is inching closer to his fourth world championship, begins the race in fifth.