Gasly “very stupid” in late Japanese GP clash - Perez

Sergio Perez has called Pierre Gasly “very stupid” after the pair clashed on the final lap of Formula 1’s Japanese Grand Prix.

Perez and Gasly came together at Turn 2 on the final tour after Perez had attempted to pass the Toro Rosso driver around the outside.

The contact sent Perez spinning into the barriers, but a system error with the chequered flag light panel system resulted in the race being stopped one lap early, meaning the Racing Point driver retained the ninth place position he had held on the previous lap.

Neither driver was penalised for the incident but Perez was left adamant that Gasly was at fault.

“I think it was an unnecessary touch, I was ahead and gave him enough room, his car wasn't even on the kerb, so I was quite ahead and had fresh tyres for the last lap of the race,” he said.

“I think it was very stupid what he did and he got away with it. He was very lucky because he could have ruined his race and lost the points, you know?

“There is a point where you would accept you've lost the position, you keep going. That happened in that manoeuvre, [Daniel] Ricciardo did it to me twice, if kept going I would have done the same [as Gasly].

“Maybe I just take him out and it's okay, but I think I'm pretty sure the stewards would give him a penalty, because in many ways it was unnecessary the move, it was just over.”

Gasly described the hit with Perez as “pretty big” and said he expected to be provided with more space, though he refrained from pinning the blame on the Mexican.

“I saw he was there, but then after of course in this corner it's always quite tricky,” he added.

“I expected a bit more space, but I don't want to blame him for anything, I first want to see the footage and just review everything.

“For sure there was an impact and I just want to review it first, see if I could've done something different, before saying anything, but for sure we'll have a look.”