Tensions ran high at the Mexican Grand Prix, as Sergio Pérez and Liam Lawson clashed both on and off the track.
Sergio Pérez started in 18th place, and the Mexican driver quickly climbed up places and was up to 13th by the end of the first lap, driving under Safety Car due to the collision between Yuki Tsunoda and Alex Albon. Unfortunately for him, as quick as his hopes rose they fell, as race control announced a 5-second time penalty for the #11 Red Bull, for a “false start” that was more related to his position on the starting grid as he was past his grid box.
When the race was green-flagged, Pérez pushed to his limits to make up places and reach the top 10 of his home race. On lap 18, he battled with Liam Lawson’s VCARB, and the two made contact when driving through turn 4.
“What the **** is this idiot doing? Is he ok?” said the Mexican over the radio.
Unfortunately for the 34-year-old, his car suffered the worst of the clash, sustaining “damage about 60 to 65 point of downforce on the floor and sidepods,” as was later confirmed by Christian Horner.
With the damage to the Mexican’s car, the performance of the RB20 was badly hurt, and Pérez stayed at the lower half of the grid for the rest of the Grand Prix. During the second half of the race, the born in Guadalajara and the Kiwi crossed paths again, as the VCARB overtook the Red Bull on the main straight, and Lawson showed the finger in Pérez’s direction.
Later in the race, Lawson battled Colapinto for 12th place, which ended in a collision. Lawson clipped Colapinto and suffered front wing damage, which forced the VCARB to pit for repairs. The stewards reviewed the incident and determined that Colapinto was at fault for causing the collision.
As Pérez was warned of the VCARB’s debris left at turn 12, the Red Bull driver spoke his mind on Lawson one more time: “I guess it’s the same idiot that crashed again,” he said on the radio, on what can be speculated is a potential internal battle within Red Bull for the seat in the team in the near future.
The conflict didn’t end when the checkered flag waved, as both drivers were asked about the incidents post-race at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez.
Pérez was clear in pointing out that the incident was “unnecessary”.
“I had a manoeuvre into turn 4 and then he [Lawson] was outside the track and just came straight, like if there was no car, you know.
“I think he could have avoided the incident, but he just went back. Luckily I saw him and I opened the room, otherwise it would have been a massive crash.
“There was no need, he damaged both of our races. I think it was just a little bit too much, but I don’t think it’s his fault, he’s not getting any penalties as well.
“He did the same with Fernando, with Franco in the end and there are no penalties, so none of his fault as well.”
Pérez recalled last week’s US Grand Prix incident between Alonso and the New Zealander, where the Spaniard described Lawson’s “hard” driving as “unnecesary”
Pushed on it, the Red Bull driver admitted: “I don’t have any relationship with him. I think the way he has come to Formula 1, I don’t think he has the right attitude for it. He needs to be a bit more humble, you know, when a two-time world champion was saying things last weekend, he completely ignored him.
“When you come to Formula 1, you’re obviously very hungry and so on, but you have to be as well respectful off track and on track. I don’t think he’s showing the right attitude to show a good case for himself, because I think he’s a great driver and I hope for him that he can step back and learn from it.”
As Pérez spoke about the younger generation and their rashness in trying to prove themselves in Formula 1, the 34-year-old was asked about the “right attitude” for approaching F1 as a rookie, particularly concerning facing veteran drivers.
“I’m just talking about Lawson in this regard. In his two first Grand Prix, he has had too many incidents.
“I think there will be a point where it can cost him too much, like it did this weekend. I just think he has to have the right attitude to say, ‘look, I’m overdoing it a little bit, I will step back and start again.’ It’s all the learning you have to do as a youngster, because if you don’t learn from your mistakes, Formula 1 is a brutal world and he might not continue.
“He nearly crashed with Fernando last weekend, he nearly crashed with Franco. I think he’s just racing everyone out of control at the moment.”
When it was Lawson’s turn, despite insisting that he left enough space for the Red Bull driver and that his RB had nowhere else to go in the incident, the New Zealander apologised for showing the finger to Pérez when he overtook him later in the race.
“I think I left him space into [turn] 4, he was coming in very, very late and honestly, I tried to give him space, he drove me off the track and then he didn’t give me space into turn 5. So it’s unfortunate, it wasn’t my intention, but I don’t know where he wants me to go.
“[The finger message] It’s obviously one of those in-the-moment things that, you know… he spent half the lap blocking me trying to ruin my race, so, I was upset, but it’s not an excuse, I shouldn’t have done it and I apologise for that.”
When asked, he assured: “I don’t think that’s what Helmut likes. It’s not my character and not something I should have done.”
