Sergio Perez has apologised following a second successive retirement at the Canada Grand Prix which left him 87 points behind Red Bull team-materoyal888, Max Vertsappen. (More Motorsport News)
The 34-year-old remained fifth overall in the world championship and a point behind Ferrari's Carlos Sainz, who was one of five drivers that failed to finish the race.
In difficult conditions in Montreal, the Mexican started 16th but hopes of climbing up the pecking order soon faded after damaging his car's front wing on the opening lap when he made contact with Alpine's Pierre Gasly.
He then crashed into the barriers late in the day after losing control on a damp kerb at turn six, hobbling back to the pits with a broken rear wing.
"I'm very sorry for my team, I let them down today. But we will come back no doubt. There’s a very long way to go," Perez said on social media.
I'm very sorry for my team, I let them down today. But we will come back no doubt. There’s a very long way to goMe siento muy apenado con mi equipo. Hoy les fallé. Pero no tengo duda de que vamos a volver. Hay todavía mucho camino por delante #SP11 #CanadianGP pic.twitter.com/osT7UJ8h17
— Sergio Pérez (@SChecoPerez) June 9, 2024His final incident cost him a three-place grid penalty for the next race in Barcelona, with the stewards punishing him for a breach of the safety rules that require a driver to stop if the car is unsafe.
"The incident was on me, I touched the wet part into turn six and I couldn’t stop the car, I couldn’t touch the brakes," Perez said on Sunday.
"It has been a very tough couple of weekends, we will regroup, keep our heads down and learn from the weekend. We identified a couple of issues after qualifying and they meant we would have qualified a lot higher.
"Hopefully we can be back to our form in Spain and get back to the level we were at earlier in the season. I am confident in that, there are good tracks coming for us."
Perez recently signed a new two-year deal with Red Bullroyal888, ending speculation that the world champions will sign free agent Sainz ahead of the new season.