Pérez handed driving reprimand after failing to follow Turn 13 procedure in qualifying
Sergio Pérez received a driving reprimand following qualifying for the Canadian Grand Prix after the stewards determined that he failed to comply with the prescribed procedure for negotiating Turn 13.
The incident involved Car 11 not moving to the right as required by the Competition Notes, leading to a review under Article 12.2.1.i of the FIA International Sporting Code, which covers failure to follow officials’ instructions.
The stewards summoned Pérez and a representative of the Cadillac Formula 1 Team after receiving the Race Director’s report. They examined positioning and marshalling system data, video footage, timing information and in‑car camera evidence before reaching their decision.
According to the FIA, Pérez explained that he had seen the car behind him “weaving” and therefore assumed that it was on an out‑lap. In reality, that car was overtaking another competitor at the time. The stewards noted that Pérez’s assumption “may have been a reasonable one,” but emphasised that he nevertheless failed to comply with the explicit instructions contained in the Competition Notes.
Those notes require any driver who fails to negotiate Turn 13 and passes completely to the left of the orange apex kerb to remain entirely to the left of the orange line on the exit of the corner and to rejoin the track only at the far end of the asphalt run‑off. The stewards determined that Pérez did not follow this procedure, constituting a breach of Article 12.2.1.i.
In their written reasoning, the stewards stated that although mitigating circumstances existed—namely Pérez’s misinterpretation of the behaviour of the car behind—these did not absolve him of responsibility. As a result, they imposed a reprimand, noting that this is the Mexican driver’s first reprimand of the season.
