After his brilliant performance at the Suzuka International Circuit last weekend, Sergio Perez posted a video on social media. It showed his overtakes on Lewis Hamilton and George Russell, which did not sit well with the fans. Trolls hurled abuses towards the Mexican driver, but the latter did not take any of it, blocking them all, one by one.
Perez overtook Hamilton and Russell at the 130R in Suzuka. It is one of the most infamous corners on the calendar, and any mistake made by Perez could have led to a big crash. Still, Perez, as pointed out by team boss Christian Horner, was fearless on that particular part of the circuit, and completed his moves flawlessly.
What some are upset about, however, is that Perez was behind the wheel of the RB20, the most dominant F1 car at the moment, and he was overtaking the Mercedes W15s, a considerably weaker challenger.
Some of the comments written on Perez’s post were so disrespectful that the Red Bull driver went out of his way to block them. Most of the abuses aimed towards the Guadalajara-born driver were targeted at his inability to catch his teammate Max Verstappen, despite driving a ‘rocket ship’.
Some also felt that Perez should not be boasting about overtaking weaker cars while driving arguably the fastest one on the grid.
The 130R is notorious, and any overtake made on that part of the circuit finds its way to highlight reels that fans look at, years after the conclusion of the event. Perez, however, had to deal with the negative side of social media, despite putting in what was a brilliant performance, as he finished P2 behind race-winner Verstappen.
Sergio Perez once battled with mental health
In 2023, Red Bull dominated the F1 grid, winning 21 out of 22 races. Perez, however, won just two with both coming in the early stages of the season. In the latter half, the Mexican driver struggled comprehensively, and his gap to Verstappen was so huge that it affected his confidence tremendously.
Perez’s situation was so dire that there were strong rumors of him getting sacked by Red Bull. Thankfully for him, Red Bull was patient. But the entire ordeal took a toll on his mental health.
Perez decided to hire a mental coach to help him recover both personally and professionally, and it seems to have been the right decision. His start to the 2024 season has been much better, and with three P2 finishes in four races, he seems to be doing exactly what Red Bull is asking of him.
Perez also seems to be shutting away all the negativity in his life. This became more evident when he blocked all the people who were spreading hate messages under his video.
