Checo Pérez needed a robot start. Have the accelerator and clutch ready and look for the best way to climb from fifth position to the first three places. At the beginning everything had gone well for him. The first five seconds were a dream as he paired with Leclerc and Verstappen. It seemed that the plan opened up the possibility of becoming the leader in a circuit where it is difficult to pass. The Mexican was going to the left, but he had no space. He became desperate, confused and crashed just in the first corner. Early ending. “I would try again, I only dream of winning at home,” he commented, overwhelmed after the race.
Mexicans fear the worst. His favorite driver, 33 years old, had the goal of taking second place in the drivers’ championship. He had four races left to try in an irregular season aboard the best car of the season. The Red Bull, tailored to Verstappen, was unmanageable for Pérez since he crashed in the Monaco Grand Prix. His irregularity raised doubts for the Austrian team regarding the end of the Mexican’s contract. The validity is until the end of 2024, however, given the instability of Latin America, the candidates to replace him are multiplying. At the beginning of the season it was Daniel Ricciardo. Right now the aspirants plan like a shadow.
“I had a very good start. I didn’t think Leclerc was going to brake so late and I didn’t expect him to be there,” the Mexican commented after the race. “I think that if I had thought about the championship today I would not have taken the risk. Today I only thought about winning in Mexico and when I had the opportunity I risked it, perhaps too much,” he admitted to the media. As soon as the Mexican abandoned the race, frustration invaded the entire Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez. Much silence. Verstappen, three-time champion, could only enjoy. Behind him came Hamilton, who begins to crush the Mexican’s aspirations to take over the sub-leadership. In third place came Leclerc, who survived the impact.
“It was a racing incident. One of those things that happen. [Checo Pérez] “He had a good start and had good momentum there heading into the first corner, but three in a row in the first corner doesn’t work,” said Red Bull director Christian Horner. “It was unfortunate and very disappointing to lose Checo in the first corner,” he remarked. Pérez has São Paulo, Las Vegas and Abu Dhabi left to fight. The Mexican’s greatest judge during his stay at Red Bull, Helmut Marko, was moderate in his opinion: “It was a racing accident. He had to go for it from the position he started from. He has to finish ahead of Hamilton to save his runners-up position.” There is only 20 points difference between the two.
The Mexican holiday had a salty flavor this Sunday. The country was hoping to see its driver on the podium for the third consecutive year. “Today I left everything on the court, I saw the space and took risks. “It wasn’t Charles’ fault,” Pérez wrote. “It didn’t work out for me, but we gave everything to seek that victory. See you next year and we will try again,” he noted in a message on his social networks. The one from Jalisco registers two victories (Saudi Arabia and Azerbaijan), four second places (Bahrain, Miami, Belgium and Italy), as well as two third places (Austria and Hungary). The serious thing is his two retirements in Japan and now in Mexico City. The worst position he obtained was in Monaco with sixteenth place. In three races he must do what has kept him in Formula 1 for 13 years: be reborn at the worst moment.
Subscribe here to the EL PAÍS México newsletter and receive all the key information on current events in this country
#Checo #Pérez #losing #home #thought #winning #Mexico #opportunity #risked