A bitter clash between Sergio Perez and Liam Lawson at the Mexican Grand Prix, with the Red Bull driver raising his voice in the post-race interview.
It was a disastrous weekend for Sergio Perez, who, after qualifying in eighteenth place, compromised his home race with a poor start and a collision with Liam Lawson that continues to spark debate. This is a sort of handover, but it is leaving significant repercussions on both sides.
Everything, or almost everything, happened on the eighteenth lap when Sergio Perez, making his way back, attacked the Racing Bulls driver, who, with enviable vigor, showed character and strength, denying the Mexican the overtake. A collision between the two was inevitable, resulting in damage to the floor for the former Racing Point driver. They later crossed paths again, with the New Zealander overtaking on the straight and giving the home driver the middle finger.
Perez, increasingly precarious, did not take it well and made the following comments in the post-race interview: ‘I don’t understand him; it could have easily been avoided, but he went for the incident, ruining both our races. Luckily, I saw him and left space, or it would have been much worse. It was excessive. He didn’t even get a penalty. He did the same thing with Alonso and Colapinto, and without a penalty, it’s as if it’s not his fault.’
Perez then added: ‘There’s a two-time world champion who has told him some things, and he didn’t care; I know you arrive in F1 hungry, but you need to show respect, both on and off the track. I don’t think he has the right attitude: he’s a good driver, and I hope he can take a step back and learn from his mistakes. In two races, he’s already caused many incidents. At some point, it will cost him dearly. He doesn’t have the mindset to understand that he might be going too far: Formula 1 is brutal; if you don’t learn from your mistakes, it can end badly for you. I don’t think it’s about the seat; he’s already done it with Fernando and Franco: he’s simply out of control.’
Is Perez’s adventure at Red Bull coming to an end?
Regardless of the various collisions, it was yet another disappointing performance from Perez, who is increasingly on the fringes of Red Bull. The Mexican commented: ‘Today was a difficult race; we were making a comeback, the start was good, and despite the penalty, we were still making progress and were in the points zone. Then there was the incident with Liam; they had hard tires and were much faster.
I went to the inside, I was ahead in the corner and didn’t expect him to be there; I had the position entering turn 5, while he was off the track: he came back and I didn’t expect him to go straight. He took out half of my side, damaging the entire sidepod and floor. I’m very frustrated with the outcome of this weekend; I apologize to my team and my fans, it was my worst home Grand Prix.’
Photo: X Red Bull e Racing Bulls