30/10/2023
NEWS STORY
Admitting that it was the saddest race of his career, Sergio Perez stands by his decision to go for broke in the opening corner of the race.
Had it worked he would have been a hero, possibly setting himself up to challenge his teammate for a historic home win... but it didn't.
A superb start saw Perez enter the opening corner three abreast with Verstappen and Charles Leclerc, but as the Mexican turned in the result was inevitable. His right-rear wheel interlocked with the left-rear of the Ferrari, sending the Red Bull into the air before crashing down and skating across the never ending run-off.
Though he made it back to the pits, the damage to his car was too great, his race was over before it had begun.
In a few brief moments the dreams of 120,000 of his countryman had been shattered, while a superb performance from Lewis Hamilton, cast further doubt on the Mexican finishing runner-up in the championship, thereby further endangering his future at Red Bull.
Nonetheless Perez stands by his decision to go for it.
"I've had some really sad moments in my career, but certainly this is, as a race, the saddest one, because of the end result," said the Mexican.
"But at the end of the day, this is just racing," he added. "I go very sad home, but I also go very proud of my time or myself. We gave it all.
"I knew that today, a podium was not enough for me, and I really wanted to go for the win. I saw the gap and I went for it."
Asked if he felt he had let down the adoring fans who had come to cheer him on, he said: "I felt to be honest I would have let them down more if I didn't go for it, if I'm honest.
"I saw the gap and I went for it," he continued. "I decided to take a risk, I knew it was going to be very risky, and I ended up paying the price.
"Yeah, risk, reward, it was pretty high risk to take, but it was worth taking it."
Asked if he would do it again, there was no hesitation. "Yes, I would," he replied.
"It's a weekend where I risked it all to go for the win," he added. "The pace was there. But it just didn't happen. This is just how racing is. I've been here long enough to understand that. You have days like this. What makes me feel proud is that I gave it all. And that's it."
"It's a tough moment for him," said team boss, Christian Horner. "It's in front of his home crowd, it's very emotional.
"I just said to him, 'You're going for the lead in your home race. You wouldn't be a race car driver if you weren't going for it'. But for that, I think he would have been on the podium, for sure, without a shadow of a doubt. It's a big loss for him, here with a car that was capable of being on the podium.
"He probably had his best start of the season, got the tow from three cars ahead, and so arrived with massive over-speed," added the Briton. "You can't blame him, at his home race, going to try and take the lead of the grand prix.
"I think you'd have to call it a racing incident because three into one doesn't go, and Charles, obviously, couldn't really get out of it. It's so frustrating for Checo, and really disappointing for his fans to lose him at the first corner."
Insisting that had the move come off it would have been a "straight fight" between Perez and his teammate, Horner added: "Checo had good pace throughout the weekend. It was just so frustrating that it was a first-corner incident, and that was my fear going into the race."
Check out our Sunday gallery from Mexico City here.