Disaster struck Guadalajara’s Formula One race driver Sergio “Checo” Perez at the Mexican Grand Prix last Sunday when he careened off the track at the first corner while attempting a daring overtaking maneuver.
Fans who had flocked to the Mexico City autodrome in their thousands to see if Perez could finally triumph in his home grand prix were shocked as their hero was eliminated from the race before it had scarcely started.
Perez, who started fifth on the grid, said he saw an opening that could have given him a dream start and even put him in the lead. But he miscalculated the space badly, causing him to collide with the Ferrari driven by Charles Leclerc, whose car was unaffected in the crash. The Tapatio driver, however, spun off the track and was unable to restart his car.
Calling his early exit “devastating,” Perez nonetheless looked ahead. “You can’t afford to keep going over what could have been. I wanted to win my home race more than anything but that is gone now and my full focus is on finishing second in the championship.”
With three races in the F1 season remaining, Perez is 20 points ahead of England’s Lewis Hamilton. His Red Bull teammate Max Verstappen has already won the 2023 F1 title.
The next F1 race is on Sunday, November 5 in Brazil.