This Sunday (29), Red Bull driver Sergio Perez crashed in his home Mexico City Grand Prix, and left the race in the first-corner.
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In an interview to Sky Sports F1, Perez explained that he felt it was the right thing to do at the moment, and that he just “went for it”. “I had a tremendous start. The gap was there and if I’m fully honest, since I was starting the race, I would be really disappointed to be on the podium today knowing I had a chance to go for the lead and I didn’t take it. I just went for it. To be honest, I didn’t expect Charles – he was in the middle, he had less room to maneuver – to brake as late as Max and I did”.
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The crash happened in the first-corner, as the Mexican driver exited from fifth on the grid and got on the outside of pole-sitter Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, who had Verstappen attacking for the lead on his inside. When Perez tried to turn into the right-hand corner, he hit Leclerc’s left front wheel.
With the impact, Perez’s car flew off the circuit. He managed to return to the pits, but the damage was severe and Red Bull decided to retire his car. “I think simply there was no room for three cars. It was a total racing incident and with hindsight…I shouldn’t say that…but in hindsight, I should back off and go home. Especially at your home Grand Prix and two times in a row on the podium. I just wanted to give it all and totally went for it.”
Charles Leclerc finished the race third, and received some boos when he was interviewed after the race. He directly addressed the crowd and said that he “had nowhere to go” in the incident.