Mexico City [Mexico], October 30 : Sergio Perez's chances of a third consecutive podium finish at his home race were crushed at the first corner on the first lap when he collided with Charles Leclerc and was sent into the air in the Mexico City Grand Prix. The resulting suspension damage was more than enough to force his withdrawal from the race, adding to the strain after a string of poor results.
Perez has had a forgettable season, with a succession of bad qualifying results that have frequently left him with too much to accomplish on race day. His work has been made much more difficult by his teammate's winning streak, underscoring the huge disparities between their seasons. Max Verstappen currently has 16 Grand Prix victories this season, while Perez has only two.
However, with Mexican fans flooding out of the stands early on Sunday after their hero spent the race shaking hands with his pit crew in his 'civvies' while the rest of the field was still racing, team manager Christian Horner was quick to defend his driver.
"On one side, elated to have won the race, keeping that winning momentum going. But on the other side, desperately disappointed for Checo, going for the lead of the race, a racing accident down at Turn 1. To go out on the first lap in front of your home crowd is really painful for him," Horner said afterwards as quoted by Formula 1.
"He was very emotional as you can imagine, but he is a racing driver - he had to go for it. You can't place the blame on any of the drivers, three into one is always going to be tough into one corner. And he had a rocket ship start, probably his best start of the year. And he was going for it in front of his home crowd," he added.
Perez's problem was that his start was almost too excellent, as he found himself with no vehicles in front of him and the lead beckoning as the drivers began to judge their braking points into Turn 1. After such a difficult season with limited possibilities to win, it's easy to understand what was going through his head - before even considering the desire to win in front of his home audience.
"Of course, it is tough for him, but he is our driver and we want him to achieve what we know he is capable of, and we'll continue to support and protect him," said Horner.
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