Sergio Perez will start this afternoon’s British Grand Prix from the pitlane following Red Bull’s decision to add new power unit elements to the Mexican driver’s pool of hardware.
Perez's woes began in Q1 when a spin at Silverstone’s damp Copse corner left him beached in the gravel trap, effectively ending his qualifying session.
While the setback would have resulted in a lowly P19 starting position regardless, Red Bull saw an opportunity to capitalize on the situation.
The team opted to replace several key power unit components that include a new Internal Combustion Engine, Energy Store, and Control Electronics.
These fresh elements all fall outside of Perez's regular allocation for the season.
It’s a smart strategic move by Red Bull, one that aims to avoid penalties later in the season by introducing new components now, with limited disadvantages.
Furthermore, Red Bull is now also authorized to make set-up changes on Perez’s RB20.
However, a pitlane start is still a monumental challenge for the Mexican who will need to carve his way opportunistically through half of the field to carry himself into the top-ten in the race.
Meanwhile, Perez's teammate Max Verstappen only qualified in fourth place after sustaining damage to his car's floor after running wide at Copse.
The Dutchman will launch his race behind the Mercedes duo of Lewis Hamilton and George Russell, as well as McLaren's Lando Norris.
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