Horner admits Perez had “shocker of a race” as he picks up four penalty points

Perez was forced to make an unscheduled pit stop after picking up front wing damage when he hit Lewis Hamilton on the run to Turn 1. 

The Mexican was then hit with two separate five-second time penalties for overtaking Fernando Alonso under the Safety Car on his way into the pits, and then clumsily ramming Kevin Magnussen. 

Perez retired with car damage before later re-emerging (briefly) so he could serve his second five-second time penalty.

In addition to the on-track punishments, Perez has also been handed four penalty points, taking his total to seven for the current 12 month period. 

Any driver who reaches 12 penalty points in the space of a year automatically triggers a one race ban. 

Horner said the only positive of Perez’s weekend is that he avoided a grid penalty for the upcoming Qatar Grand Prix. 

“It was a shocker of a race for him today,” Horner told Sky.

“It got off to a bad start. He picked up front wing damage, we needed to change it, he overtook Fernando in the pitlane and picked up a penalty, came back out and then divebombed one of the Haases. 

“The only good thing? We were able to serve the penalty here so he leaves it here in Japan.” 

Perez acknowledged his weekend had been a disaster from start to finish. 

“It was just a disastrous weekend,” Perez told F1TV. 

"It all started into turn one with a really bad start and I was squeezed down and I was just a passenger then in a sandwich. 

“I think we carried a lot of damage in the car as well and that just made it a lot harder for us.”

Perez’s non-score means Red Bull teammate Max Verstappen can clinch the world title as early as the sprint race in Qatar.