Just two weeks ago, Alex Pereira defeated Khalil Rountree to retain his UFC light heavyweight title and has been having a great time since then. In fact, the MMA fighter also visited the Sauber F1 team’s garage at the Mexico City GP, where he met the team’s drivers Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu, while also recreating his viral celebration from the Jamahal Hill fight from earlier this year.
ESPN posted about the same on Instagram with a picture of Pereira doing the same pose he did after defeating Hill in April along with Bottas and Zhou. The post caption read, “Alex is living his best life at the F1 track”.
View this post on Instagram
The Brazilian fighter performed a mocking celebration after knocking out his opponent in the first round of the bout, feeling that Hill’s behavior during fight week was “not good.”
He said, “He started off respectful during the week and then he did what he did during the press conference and the weigh-ins. So honestly the least I could do was that to him.” Pereira had told his team that if the fight ended in a knockout, he would do that celebration—and the Brazilian stayed true to his word.
More recently, Pereira’s win over Rountree was a more elaborate fight that went till the fourth round. Pereira won on a technical knockout and successfully defended his title but this time around, he did not do the mocking celebration, likely because his opponent was respectful.
View this post on Instagram
As for his Sauber garage visit, Pereira seemed to be enjoying himself. He also danced along with Bottas and Zhou ahead with Sauber’s Instagram posting a video of the same.
Sauber desperately needed all the luck and support Pereira offered during his visit, as their 2024 season has been nothing short of abysmal.
Can Sauber score their first points of 2024 in Mexico?
Despite a difficult season so far—zero points so far—Sauber showed a glimmer of hope in Mexico regarding potentially finishing in the top 10. Bottas successfully made it to Q2, securing P15 in Saturday’s qualifying. The Finn would now hope for some chaos (a timely safety car or a red flag for instance) in Sunday’s Grand Prix to break into the top 10.
This season, the 10-time race winner sits at the bottom of the drivers’ standings, without a single point to his name and enduring the worst results of his career—a stark contrast to his Mercedes days, when he regularly fought for podiums between 2017 and 2021.
Even a single point in Mexico could be as good as finding water in the desert for Sauber, particularly Bottas. With the upcoming Audi takeover in 2026, the Swiss team cannot afford to earn the wooden spoon like this. And Bottas could lose out on his seat in F1 if he doesn’t have any good showings.
