Sergio Perez has reaffirmed his position that there was no deliberate intent to hit Sergey Sirotkin during their battle at the Singapore Grand Prix.
The Mexican had become bottled up behind the Russian after pitting early with a frustrating battle ensuing as Perez couldn’t find a way past the much slower Williams.
Eventually, an opportunity did arise exiting Turn 14 with the pair duelling all the way to in front of the main Marina Bay grandstand where the Force India driver appeared to swerve left into Sirotkin’s car.
“I’ve obviously seen it and in my opinion, it looks a lot worse from the outside,” Perez told Motorsport.com in Sochi on Thursday.
“Basically, with these mirrors it’s very hard to see behind, so I lost the reference, I thought I already did the move in the first corner, entering the Turn 17/18 chicane.
“I actually was speaking on the radio at that point but then I saw him, and then I just misjudged where he was. I was trying to close the door before braking but he was just too close to it.
“It was just my fault, got a penalty, which I think was right. Nothing to say, really, other than accepting my mistake. I ruined my race, I wouldn’t have done it on purpose.”
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Some drew comparisons between the Perez/Sirotkin clash to when Sebastian Vettel intentionally hit Lewis Hamilton in Baku last year and therefore thought the 28-year-old should have been disqualified.
The reason for possible intent was a complaint Sergio put in about the Russian driver moving around under braking.
“There wasn’t a single time where I moved under braking,” Sirotkin said in response.
“It shouldn’t be mixed up with… in Singapore, when you approach braking zones, you don’t always approach in a straight line, and it’s simply a question of at which point you put your car at the angle to brake straight.
“I was honest in my position after the race, claiming that I did nothing wrong and this is my conclusion still.”