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button and brundle over crash perez mexico

'As if Perez rolled the dice a little bit' before crash in Mexico

30 October 2023 at 14:19

Jenson Button and Martin Brundle spoke about Sergio Perez at Mexican Grand Prix. While the former speaks of an error of judgment, Brundle thinks that the Mexican Red Bull Racing driver gambled and lost.

"Charles had nowhere to go," Button assessed to Sky Sports. "I think Checo thought he had enough room for Charles on the inside, else he wouldn't have turned in. He didn't want to crash, but he just didn't judge the situation of two cars inside him. This is the issue when you have cars that start really well and cars that don't start so well, and the drag is so long to Turn One. What is Checo supposed to do?"

The 2009 world champion thinks what Perez should have done differently. "He couldn't really pull out of the fighting before the corner and just connect, because if I look at that [replay], there were cars there. There would have been a big risk of contact there as well. They would have been on his outside then and possibly caused even more chaos."

Brundle on Perez's crash

Brundle - former Formula One driver and now a commentator at the aforementioned British television channel - takes a slightly different view. "Sergio rolled the dice a little bit. He instinctively thought he was on the racing line, he would brake later, had a lot of momentum, those on the inside, the dirtier part of the track and more acute angle into the first corner might brake a little bit earlier. But Charles Leclerc didn't."

"He braked every bit as late as he's entitled to do. Leclerc had a few centimetres to his right but nowhere near enough to avoid that contact with Perez. I feel very sad for him and sad for the crowd."