“He gets paid by Haas, so he should do the best for them” - Sergio Perez talks about Kevin Magnussen's defensive performance in Jeddah
Red Bull F1 driver Sergio Perez recently gave his opinion on Kevin Magnussen's defensive performance in the Saudi Arabian GP. Perez suggested that the Haas F1 driver acted in the interest of the team, helping his teammate Nico Hulkenberg earn a valuable point.
Magnussen's outing in the Saudi Arabian GP was blighted with penalties, which put him out of contention for a points scoring position. However, the Haas F1 team strategically used him to back up the pack and help Hulkenberg make his mandatory pitstop without losing any track position.
Kevin Magnussen's defense was labeled 'unsportsmanlike' by rivals who missed out on a points-scoring opportunity. Sergio Perez, however, opined that while the circumstances were 'not ideal' for rival teams, the Danish F1 driver ultimately played the team game.
Ahead of the Australian GP, Perez lauded Magnussen's defense and said in the press conference on Thursday:
"Well, it was very, very impressive to see. I think, like Kevin says, I think there were some strategic reasons behind it. As a team, I think they worked well. They worked as a team, and from my point of view, it's not ideal if you are in the other side. But I think it's just, at the end of the day, you have to do the best for your team. And he gets paid by Haas, so he should do the best for them."
Kevin Magnussen further expressed that he had mixed feelings after the race, and that it was not the ideal way of racing. The 31-year-old added that the lack of points-scoring opportunities forced the team to use such tactics.
Two rounds into the 2024 season, Haas occupies sixth place in the standings with one point. They are ahead of Williams, Sauber, RB, and Alpine, who are yet to score a point.
Sergio Perez expresses optimism after a solid start to the season
After an inconsistent campaign in 2023, Sergio Perez is focused on improving his consistency and his qualifying pace. Having kicked off his 2024 campaign with two second-place finishes, Perez believes he is heading in the right direction.
The Mexican F1 driver was classified 22 seconds behind race winner Max Verstappen in the Bahrain GP. The gap to his Red Bull teammate was reduced to 13 seconds in the Saudi Arabian GP.
He said in the aforementioned press conference:
"I think we are heading in the right direction. I'm really pleased with the first two races, especially with the progress we made after the first one. I feel like as a team we are in a really good momentum. We are understanding a lot of what's going on on the weekends, the way we review the weekends, how we prepare them."
Catch Sergio Perez live in action in the Australian GP, scheduled this weekend, from March 22 - 24.