Sergio Perez produced yet another disappointing result for Red Bull at the Mexico City GP last weekend. He crashed into Leclerc’s Ferrari as the drivers made their way out of Turn 1 after the start of the race. As Perez’s race came to a heartbreaking end shortly after, one of his harshest critics in recent times, Helmut Marko, chose to back the Mexican driver’s actions rather than condemn him for them.
As the five red lights turned off for the feature race to begin, Perez had one of the strongest starts on the grid, quickly overtaking most cars in front of him before Turn 1 would come. Heading into the turn, Perez had the outside line while Max Verstappen had the innermost line, leaving Leclerc to fend for himself in the middle. With the turn being a right-hander, Leclerc had nowhere to go as Perez squeezed him, which saw his right rear tire roll over Leclerc’s front left and send him flying off the track.
Following the same, Perez had irreparable damage to his car, meaning his race was over as soon as it began. However, Marko believes it was the need of the hour for Perez and termed the incident a “racing accident,” per a report from Motorsport.
“If you have that position and have the chance to go into the first corner first or second, it’s the best possible situation. That’s why you have to try and he did well to do so.”
Marko added the maneuver was neither reckless nor was it extreme. Given that it was his home race, it was understandable that Perez wanted to take the lead, and a strong launch gave him more confidence to achieve the same. Despite the collision, the 33-year-old still wanted to continue the race, and he tried his best to do so.
Sergio Perez drove to the pits in hopes of being able to continue his home race
Following the collision, Perez limped his car to the paddock in hopes of making it back on the track as soon as possible. However, it wasn’t meant to be, as the engineers deemed his car too damaged to be driven- putting an end to his race. In many ways, the heartbreak of the Mexico City GP was the perfect summation of Perez’s 2023 season.
After the race, a distraught Perez talked to the media, where he claimed the 2023 Mexico City GP had become the saddest memory in his F1 career, which spans over a decade. However, he added he had no regrets for attempting the move, as he saw an opening and went for it.
Even Christian Horner took some time off from his mid-race duties to comfort an emotional Perez. Speaking to the media after the race, Horner claimed it was a heartbreaking moment for Perez to crash out of the race in front of his home crowd. He, too, showed support for the actions of the 33-year-old as he claimed, “You wouldn’t be a racing driver if you weren’t going for it.”
