Charles Leclerc’s contact with Sergio Perez caused the home hero to crash out of the race at the first corner, infuriating the fans at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.
Charles Leclerc was not at fault for Sergio Perez’s crash at the first corner of the Mexican Grand Prix, he made it clear to his supporters.
For the race on Sunday, the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez crowd was fully behind the Guadalajara man. However, it was short lived as his Red Bull suffered irreversible damage in a collision.
Perez thought he had a chance to lead into the first corner after a fantastic launch off the line. However, he made contact with Leclerc’s Ferrari, causing his own vehicle to shoot skyward before crashing forcefully back 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.”
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.”
In an odd statement, Perez claimed in his post-race interview that he regretted nothing about the decision he made to end his race. He admitted, visibly upset, “I’ve had some really sad moments in my career, but this is definitely the saddest one.”
To be honest, I think that if I hadn’t waited for it, I would have disappointed [the fans] more. I chose to take a chance after spotting the opening. I realized it would be extremely dangerous. And in the end, I had to pay the price. It was a fairly high risk, but the risk-reward ratio made it worthwhile.”