Lawson explains why he gave Perez the middle finger during Mexican GP

Perez advanced at the start of the Grand Prix to 13th place, but dropped towards the back of the pack after he served a penalty. The Mexican started the race outside his grid box and the stewards gave a five-second penalty. Perez was working his way back through the field when he came up against Lawson. The two drivers battled on track, with Perez sustaining damage. The Mexican later blamed Lawson for costing Red Bull a lot of points.

Lawson gave his view on the matter. "I left him space into four. He was coming in very, very late. I tried to give him space, he drove me off the track and then he didn't give me space into turn five. It’s unfortunate. It wasn’t my intention but I didn’t know where to go," Lawson, who has completed two Grands Prix in 2024, stated afterwards.

Lawson apologises

When Lawson passed Perez later in the race, the New Zealander raised his middle finger from his cockpit. In retrospect, Lawson regrets that moment. "It's obviously one of those in the moment things. 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," he said.

Helmut Marko wasn't happy about the incident and Lawson can understand this feeling. "I don't think that's what Helmut likes. It's not my character, it's not something I should have done."

According to Christian Horner, the two drivers had already spoken to each other after the race. According to Perez, Lawson had the wrong attitude.

This article has been created in collaboration with Tim Kraaij