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Sergio Perez Claims a “Totally Wrong” Virtual Safety Car Message Cost Him P3 in France

When Alfa Romeo’s Zhou Guanyu’s car broke down at Turn 6 with just four laps remaining in the 2022 French Grand Prix, the virtual safety car protocol kicked in. At that point in time, it really seemed as though George Russell could do nothing in order to get past Sergio Perez and earn P3.
Red Bull Racing driver Sergio Perez 8 photos
Photo: Oracle Red Bull Racing / Twitter
Red Bull Racing driver Sergio PerezRed Bull Racing driver Sergio PerezRed Bull Racing driver Sergio PerezRed Bull Racing driver Sergio PerezRed Bull Racing driver Sergio PerezRed Bull Racing driver Sergio PerezRed Bull Racing driver Sergio Perez
However, when the VSC ended, Perez appeared to be caught out by the message, which in turn allowed Russell to simply sprint past him and take the final podium spot away from the Mexican.

So then, what happened? Well, Motorsport reports that the message received by Perez from the FIA was incorrect. Usually, a green flag must be shown 10-15 seconds after the initial end message is given, but in France, this took close to a full minute.

“It was very unfortunate what happened with the virtual safety car,” said Perez after the race. “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.”

“It seems like George had different information and he was able to prepare better for it. 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.”

“It [the VSC message] was totally wrong, there was something going on because it said it was going to end out of Turn 9 and it only ended out of Turn 12,” added the Red Bull driver.

Meanwhile, team boss Christian Horner stood by his driver, saying that Russell either jumped the gun while still being within the delta time or perhaps the information given to the two cars was different. Either way, it seems like Red Bull will be looking into what happened.
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About the author: Sergiu Tudose
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Sergiu got to experience both American and European car "scenes" at an early age (his father drove a Ford Fiesta XR2 supermini in the 80s). After spending over 15 years at local and international auto publications, he's starting to appreciate comfort behind the wheel more than raw power and acceleration.
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