Formula One: Force India's Perez gets seven place grid penalty

Mexico's Sergio Perez will have a seven place starting grid penalty at next weekend's Brazilian Formula One Grand Prix as punishment for reckless driving in Sunday's US race.

The Force India driver retired after a first lap collision with Sauber's Adrian Sutil that dumped the German out of the race and forced the deployment of the safety car while debris was cleared.

Stewards said in a statement that Perez "could not reasonably have expected to complete the manoeuvre. His collision with car 99 (Sutil) was reckless."

Perez was also handed two penalty points.

Sutil had started in ninth place on the grid at the Circuit of the Americas with every hope of scoring his team's first points of the season.

"Unfortunately, it was a short race," he said.

"I had a good start and was in a promising position. Sadly Sergio crashed into my car, which was completely needless. It is very disappointing that we missed our biggest chance of points because of this move."

Perez said the crash, in the closest he has to a home race until Mexico comes on the calendar next year, had been "really unfortunate".

"It's a big shame because I had a great chance to keep up my run of points finishes and I was determined to do well in such an important race," he added.

"I feel very sorry for all my fans who came to support me this weekend and I'm disappointed I could not give them a race to remember."

Photograph: Clive Mason/Getty Images