Sergio Perez survived a freak accident during his early years in the junior Formula series, which could have ended disastrously for the Mexican driver. The incident occurred during the 2006 Formula BMW ADAC season.
It was the 6th race of the season at Norisring, Germany. With 2 laps to go, Checo was battling Colombian driver Sebastian Saavedra for the 7th place. The Mexican race driver attempted a move. However, Saavedra blocked him by weaving on the straight. A poor overtaking move from Perez saw the driver clipping his front right wheel, ending his race early.
But the Mexican driver’s car collected Saavedra down the road, spinning him out of the race. In an act of rage, the Colombian driver drove into Perez’s car, an incident that could have gone wrong for the Red Bull driver.
Sergio Perez narrowly escapes fatal collision in 2006 Formula BMW
A video shows the two drivers involved in a heated argument as Sebastian Saavedra drives over Sergio Perez’s car. Perez barely escaped the oncoming vehicle’s wheel by a whisker. He was trapped underneath the underbody of Saavedra’s car.
Saavedra was later seen furiously exiting his car, throwing his steering wheel onto Perez’s car. Marshals soon rushed to the spot and rescued the Mexican driver, who was crouching in his cockpit to escape any injuries.
This incident occurred way before FIA mandated the use of Halo. Had Saavedra’s car been off by a couple of inches, his wheel would have hit Perez’s head. Such an injury could be extremely serious and even prove fatal. Miraculously, Perez emerged unharmed from the incident.
Both drivers were black-flagged from the race and disqualified. Saavedra was dropped by his team, Eifelland Racing, and did not appear in the remaining races that season. Perez went on to finish the season in 6th place.
Perez was involved in another major accident weeks after Jules Bianchi’s passing
During the 2015 Hungarian GP, Sergio Perez was involved in a harrowing accident. The incident occurred during the FP1 of the Hungarian GP. Perez lost control of his Force India ahead of turn 11, causing him to spin and hit the barrier.
The impact caused his right front wheel to break off. As the car came to a stop, the wheel caused his Force India to flip upside down. The session was immediately Red-flagged, and Perez was rescued from the wreckage. The Mexican escaped unharmed and recalled the incident after the session.
“It was a really bad accident, pretty unlucky. The track was dirty and I went on the grass and I collided on the other side of the track at a very bad angle, so it made the car roll,” said Perez as per Guardian.
The incident sent chills down everyone’s spine as the 2015 Hungarian GP marked the first race since Jules Bianchi’s passing. Bianchi died on 17 July 2015 due to injuries sustained after colliding with a tractor during the 2014 Japanese GP.
The Marussia driver underwent surgery and remained comatose until he succumbed to his injuries in 2015. The 25-year-old racer’s death was a dark day for the sport and marked the first on-track fatality in F1 since 3-time World champion Ayrton Senna’s death in the 1994 San Marino GP.
