Perez Hit with Brake Failure on Final Lap of Austrian GP

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief

Sergio Perez escaped injury after suffering brake failure on the final lap of the Austrian Grand Prix.

The 26-year-old Mexican’s day ended while running comfortably in the points in eighth when his brakes failed heading into Turn 3, skidding across the gravel before a encountering head on collision with the wall.

“It’s a big shame that we retired on the last lap of the race,” Perez said. “I’m feeling sad for the team because we really deserved some points. Yesterday and today we have been really unlucky, and it’s frustrating because we’ve been competitive here with our pace. The race was going really well and I thought we had the points in our pocket.”

The Sahara Force India driver was aiming to close on Romain Grosjean for seventh, knowing the Frenchman had a time penalty.

“I was pushing hard to stay close to Grosjean because I knew he had a five seconds time penalty,” Perez continued. “Then, on the final lap, going into turn three, I had no brakes and went straight on. I touched the barrier and damaged the front of the car, but I’m perfectly okay.

“It’s annoying because the team did everything right today and it’s just bad luck which stopped our great recovery.”

About Joey Barnes 624 Articles
Joey Barnes is the Founder of Motorsports Tribune, an outlet that began with the goal of helping aspiring journalists break into and grow the industry. A regular on the racing scene since 2013, the journey for Joey started by covering a Grand-Am event at Circuit of The Americas in his home state of Texas. He has since primarily focused on the IndyCar Series, with appearances in the garages of NASCAR, paddocks of Formula 1, IMSA and World Endurance Championship, while also occasionally engulfing clouds of dust at the Chili Bowl Midget Nationals and select Supercross rounds. With previous stops at Autoweek, IndyCar.com, Motorsport.com and RACER, among others, Joey evolved from the singular task as a freelance writer to advanced roles behind the copy desk and alongside some of the best editorial teams in the business. Recognized as a multi-time award winner by the National Motorsports Press Association, Joey currently resides in Dallas-Fort Worth with his trusty four-legged canine companion, Rocket.

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