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Perez hit with three-place grid penalty for Spanish GP after infringement in Canada
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Sergio Perez has been hit with a three-place grid penalty for the Spanish Grand Prix after he was judged to have driven back to the pits with a "significantly damaged car" in Montreal.
In what has been a nightmare Canadian Grand Prix weekend for the Mexican, Perez had spun off on Lap 53 of the race and damaged his rear wing, before managing to limp back to the pit lane and retire.
READ MORE: Verstappen beats Norris to victory in thrilling wet/dry Canadian GP
However, after being summoned to the stewards following the race in Montreal, he has now been hit with the penalty after it was determined he had continued for the remainder of that lap with a "significantly damaged car" that "lost several carbon fibre parts on the way back to the pits."
Red Bull have also been fined €25,000 over the incident with the team confirming in the post-race hearing that Perez had been advised to bring the car back to the pits as they were trying to avoid a Safety Car, with his team mate Max Verstappen going on to win the race.
Perez will serve his three-place grid penalty at the Spanish Grand Prix
The stewards' full decision read: "After making contact with the barriers in Turn 6, the driver [Perez] continued on track for the remainder of the lap with a significantly damaged car and thereby lost several carbon fibre parts on the way back to the pits.
"The team confirmed in the hearing that the driver had been advised to bring the car back to the pits as they were trying to avoid a Safety Car situation. The Stewards determine that, as well as a financial penalty for the team, a sporting penalty is necessary due to the safety implications of the incident."
Despite securing a two-year contract extension with Red Bull last week, Perez's nightmare weekend in Canada means he has failed to score in each of his last two races.
He was also forced to retire in Monaco after a dramatic collision on the first lap, but his results haven't been helped by his recent qualifying run having started 16th in the Principality and again in Montreal.
"I did a mistake going into Turn 6, I just touched the wet patch and once you do that it’s really game over, and unfortunately that’s what happened," said Perez on the incident before the penalty had been handed out. "Very tough weekend, but I think there is a long season ahead and we will be back to our form that we had earlier.”
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