Horner reacts to Perez's crash: It's a great shame

Red Bull's Christian Horner took a diplomatic stance towards Sergio Perez's pre-race accident at the Belgian Grand Prix, after the Mexican driver crashed out on the reconnaissance lap on his way to the grid.

Perez clumsily slid over the kerbs at Les Combes and into the barriers on the exit of the corner, resulting in front-right suspension damage that was too severe for him to be able to continue and get back to the pits to attempt repairs.

Horner, speaking to Sky Sports after the crash, explained what had gone wrong for Perez.

"It's disappointing not to able to take the start, it just shows how tricky conditions are out there," said Horner.

"He reported he couldn't really see anything and, unfortunately, it just got away from him. So it's a great shame for Checo and the team not to be taking the start."

With the race start delayed as a result of the weather, Horner isn't expecting conditions to clear up a whole lot over the course of the afternoon.

"The weather looks pretty set in so I don't think there's gonna be a big dry out in the second half of the race," he said.

"It's really treacherous. Some days like today, I certainly wouldn't want to be getting in one of those cars. And I think it's conditions like these that mark out these drivers as being something very special, incredibly brave, [with] 1000 horsepower round here in the wet..."