The Mexican Grand Prix, the home event, lasted just under a kilometer for Sergio Perez. Starting very well, the Mexican managed to overtake Carlos Sainz’s Ferrari and join Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc, paired in front of everyone.
Arriving at the first corner, Perez, Leclerc and Verstappen found themselves next to each other, but the Mexican – on the outside – had much more speed than the other two. At that point his intention was clear: to overtake both from the outside and close the first corner in first place.
Perez executed the maneuver, but miscalculated where Leclerc’s Ferrari was at the time and contact was inevitable. The front right of the Red number 16 caught the rear right of the RB19 number 11 and made it take off for a few metres, causing it to end up in the escape route.
Perez tried to reach the pits to assess the damage to his car and return to the track, but it proved too serious to continue. At the end of the race Helmut Marko, consultant for Red Bull Racing, commented on Sergio’s maneuver… defending it. After several attacks over the last few months – including some unpleasant ones, for which he had to apologize to the pilot – this time Marko was at the 34-year-old’s side.
Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB19, Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF-23, Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing RB19, at the start of the race
“I would say it was a race accident. He made a much better start than Sainz and was also ahead of Leclerc. It was a bit unlucky. It was bad luck to see all three of them arrive at the corner together like that “.
“I don’t think Checo felt pressure in his home race. If you have that position and have the chance to go into the first corner first or second, it’s the best possible situation. That’s why you have to try and he did well to do so.”
Marko continued by stating that Perez’s maneuver was neither reckless nor extreme. Indeed, it was made with sense, if not perhaps a few centimeters too soon.
“I wouldn’t say he made an ‘all or nothing’ manoeuvre. It was just a matter of a couple of centimetres: if he had been slightly further ahead, he would have been ahead of Leclerc.”
“When he returned to the pits after the accident I saw his face. I saw it when he was still in the car. He asked to return to the track, but we immediately understood that the damage to his RB19 was too serious, so he wouldn’t could continue. It wasn’t just a matter of the big hole in the belly, but also other essential parts of the car that suffered significant damage”, concluded Marko.
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