Following his win in Austin in the recently concluded United States Grand Prix, Max Verstappen was booed by the fans. Now, the Red Bull driver has set alarms of revenge as he is ready to venture into Mexico and take the win against his teammate Sergio Perez despite the latter having local support.
Verstappen had been pretty dominant over Perez through most of the season except the first four races. From Miami, it was a different Dutchman who went on to have a rampage. Now as he won the race in Austin as well, reports say the boo was based on it.
It’s incredible to win my 50th Grand Prix here today. I feel very proud to achieve this! This was a tough race, but it’s great that we were still able to win. Amazing job by everyone in the team 👏 @redbullracing pic.twitter.com/9NYUOTRBDm
— Max Verstappen (@Max33Verstappen) October 22, 2023
Furthermore, a win in Mexico will see the Red Bull driver claim 16 wins in a single season. This will be the highest tally for a driver and therefore Verstappen will break his own record from 2022. Therefore, a win in Mexico could be very important for the defending champion.
Verstappen hopeful for a win in Mexico
F1 ventures into Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez next week when Max Verstappen will take on local boy Sergio Perez. Even though there is no direct competition between the two Red Bull drivers, the Mexican will surely try to assert his dominance in his own backyard.
Furthermore, Perez will also be assisted by the home crowd in Mexico. Despite this, the three-time world champion is determined to clinch the win even if there are ten times more boos on his way.
When asked about the boos in Austin, the Dutch driver replied that he does not care as long as he takes the winner’s trophy. When asked about it in Mexico, he added in the post-race interview, “Then I’ll still go home with the trophy. So that’s totally fine.” Nevertheless, Perez has other battles to take care of.
Perez needs to safeguard his Red Bull seat first
Sergio Perez is currently sitting in P2 in the driver’s championship. However, he had threats from different drivers throughout the season. Earlier it was Fernando Alonso and now it is Lewis Hamilton.
Even though Hamilton’s disqualification in Austin helped the Mexican driver to a great extent. However, with the level of performance Silver Arrows and Hamilton have been pulling off lately, the gap is still coverable.
In spite of all this, Red Bull boss Christian Horner has recently given a safe haven to Sergio Perez. The honcho said that the former Force India driver need not worry about his seat in 2024 as he is confirmed to race alongside Max Verstappen for one more year.
