The home Grand Prix at Mexico City it's not just a special race for Sergio Perez; it is also a crucial moment for his future in Formula 1. Despite having a contract until the end of 2024, he is under pressure to prove that he deserves to remain with the team for the 2025 season. The Mexican Red Bull driver, in the usual press conference preceding the race weekend, spoke about the importance of this weekend, underlining how special it is to race in front of his fans. There was also no shortage of response to the latest controversies regarding the rivalry on and off the track with Max Verstappen. The Mexican has already invited his audience to respect the team and his first opponent, his teammate. Furthermore, supporting the fact that it is the media that constantly wants to pit them against each other. Here are Perez's statements on the eve of the weekend in Mexico.
Perez: “we have made progress”
After a series of frustrating weekends, Perez made “good progress” with his RB19 in the United States thanks to intensive simulation work. The driver and his engineers worked hard to regain the pace he had shown at the start of the season, trying to improve the car's set-up. The two Sprint weekends certainly didn't help. The lower time was felt by all the riders, in particular by those who normally struggled to adapt, like Perez. Since Red Bull brought updates to Barcelona the Mexican's approach was increasingly difficult. The RB19 was diverted towards Verstappen and his driving style. This is to allow the Dutch driver to reach his third world title. As well as emotionally, it was also difficult for Perez to get into a car that wasn't made for him but which he is now managing to understand better.
“We have made a lot of progress. - ha declared Perez. SFortunately, we haven't been able to show the full potential we have. With the Sprint, we ended up going in the wrong direction with the car. As many people did. Even Mercedes, Ferrari , that's what happens in this type of event. So we ended up going in the wrong direction. And I think we've made really good progress. "
Perez dreams of victory at home: the statements in Mexico
Being a national hero, the Red Bull driver also hopes to win a race in Mexico. So far he has been on the podium twice, in 2021 and 2022 but without winning.“It would be crazy. This is obviously my biggest dream, to reach it this weekend. Now, focus fully on tomorrow, on testing, and try to have a perfect weekend here. It's the weekend you want to be perfect, the weekend you want to maximize your result. If there's a particular Grand Prix you want to win, it's your home Grand Prix. Once I'm in the car, it's much easier. It's very easy, it comes naturally. But when you're out of the car or even in the paddock, you see that the focus is very different. Lots of eyes on you and lots of support from the entire audience."
The rivalry with Max Verstappen
Checo and Max are companions but also rivals on the track. Every driver knows it, his first enemy is his neighbor in the garage. In this case however, also considering the latest rumors that see Perez in the final stages in Red Bull, the rivalry has been dragged outside the scope of the track. Particularly from the media. This did nothing but fuel the rivalries between the fans, in particular those of Perez who in Austin forcefully booed Verstappen on the podium. Perez defended his colleague who was targeted by fans and the press. Perez continues in his statements in Mexico:”I think the media likes to create this type of rivalry off the track and I think this is a wonderful sport, it's a great example for many of the younger generations and us we only have to focus on the sporting aspect and what happens on the track. As a nation we want to communicate this to the rest of the world, and that's it.”
