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Max Verstappen understands why Sergio Perez ended up risking too much and crashing out of the 2023 F1 Mexican GP. The Mexican driver was racing in front of his home crowd, and the support was massive for him.
At the same time, however, Perez has been under pressure in the second half of the season. On one side, he's suffered a slump in form in qualifying, and on the other side, Red Bull has been exploring options.
The start of the race in Mexico saw Sergio Perez make a great start from P5 and was side by side battling for the lead with Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc before turn 1.
In what was an overtly ambitious move, Perez tried to outbrake both Max and Charles and ended up in the gravel with damage. The Mexican was quite upset after the race and got a hand around the shoulder from Red Bull as well.
Max Verstappen also felt the same, as he understood why Sergio Perez went for the move. As quoted by PlanetF1.com, he said:
“I mean, I understand because it’s his home Grand Prix. You want to be on the podium, I fully understand that. “He went around the outside, and he tried. Looking at the footage, I think he could have left a little bit more space, but at the other end if it would have worked, you know, you look amazing. And of course, I think it’s just more like that excitement of wanting to be on the podium and this time it didn’t work out, unfortunately.”
He added:
“At the time, I didn’t really see a lot. At one point, I just saw that a car was a bit flying in the air, but then I saw the footage after the race and then you can comment on it. But while driving it’s a bit hard because I was mainly focusing on Charles, because I couldn’t see what was happening on the outside.”
"In hindsight I took a risk": Max Verstappen's teammate Sergio Perez
Talking to DAZN afterward, Max Verstappen's teammate Sergio Perez admitted he did take a risk too early in the race. Talking about the race and how he had been on the podium twice, the Mexican admitted that he wanted to win the race for the fans.
He said:
“I’m sad without a doubt because today was my opportunity. I had a very good start and I was only thinking of winning the race. I didn’t want to be on the podium. I’ve been on the podium two years in a row. I saw the opportunity and I went for it. In hindsight, I took a risk, but if I had pulled it off I would have come out of Turn 1 in the lead."
He added:
“I didn’t expect Charles to brake so late since he was the car in the middle. He had a lot less margin than Max, who was on the inside, and I was the one who could brake the latest because I was on the outside.”
With Sergio Perez crashing out early, Max Verstappen had no real threat in the race as he cruised to his 16th win at the 2023 F1 Mexican GP.
