Sergio Perez shows true colours as Charles Leclerc booed after Mexico GP clash

30 October 2023 , 00:51

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Sergio Perez crashed at the first corner of the Mexican Grand Prix (Image: AP)

Sergio Perez made it clear to his fans that Charles Leclerc was not to blame for his crash at the first corner of the Mexican Grand Prix.

The man from Guadalajara had the full support of the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez crowd behind him for Sunday's race. But it lasted for just a few seconds before a crash caused terminal damage to his Red Bull.

Having had a great launch off the line, Perez felt he had the chance to take the lead going into the first corner. But he made contact with Leclerc's Ferrari which sent his own car up into the air before slamming hard back down onto the track.

Frustrated fans took out their anger on Leclerc after the race as they booed him throughout his interview in the stadium section of the circuit. And the Monegasque racer had tried to explain himself over the din.

"A lot of booing. Guys, honestly, I had nowhere to go," he said, turning to those fans. "I was between two Red Bulls, we touched and damaged both our cars. I am disappointed to end Checo's race like that but I had nowhere to go."

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In a bid to make sure his devoted followers do not apportion too much blame to Leclerc, Perez posted on social media in which he made it clear he did not think his Ferrari rival was at fault for the collision which ruined his weekend.

" Firstly, I just want to say thank you to everyone from the bottom of my heart – you are the best fans in the world," he wrote. "Today, I left everything on the track, saw the space, and took a chance.

"It wasn't Charles' fault – it was just a racing incident. It didn't go our way, but we gave everything chasing that victory. Proud of our effort and the amazing work by @redbullracing this weekend. See you next year, and we will go for it again."

Rather strangely, Perez said in his post-race interview that he had no regrets over making the move which ended his race. "I've had some really sad moments in my career, but certainly this the saddest one," he said, the emotion he was feeling clear to see.

"I feel, to be honest, that I would have let [the fans] down more if I didn't wait for it, if I'm honest. So I saw the gap, and I went for it I decided to take a risk. I knew it was going to be very risky. And I ended up paying the price. Risk-reward, it was a pretty high risk take, but it was worth taking."

Daniel Moxon