Red Bull Racing shared the reason behind Mexican F1 driver Sergio Perez’s absence from the media day ahead of the Austrian Grand Prix 2023. Perez was declared to be ill overnight before the media interaction and hence could be available. Held at Spielberg, this race is the home grand prix for Red Bull with the company being based in the host country.
The two-time defending F1 champion Max Verstappen, who also finished on pole at last year’s Austrian Grand Prix, was the only Red Bull driver at the media interaction. Talking about the statement released by Red Bull, the defending Constructors’ champions stated that Perez will be focusing on his health for the weekend.
The statement said, “Checo [Perez] won’t be at the circuit today. He became unwell last night and is taking the day to rest to ensure he’s in the best possible health for this weekend’s race.” Soon Checo also shared an update of his own: "Last night I wasn’t feeling good, so we decided to go straight to the hotel in Austria to have proper recovery time to be 100% tomorrow.”
Coming back to this year’s Austrian Grand Prix, Sergio Perez expressed how the sprint race weekends don’t allow teams to get enough car time on the track. Speaking to the media sometime before the Austrian GP weekend, Perez said, "It's a sprint race weekend, so the time in the car for set-up will be minimal.”
"We have to maximize every moment in the preparation. Last time in Baku I had a lot of fun and I was successful, but that was on a different circuit. I want to achieve the same thing now, but I know that I have to go the extra mile," he added.
