Perez was angry with Lawson, but how does he reflect one week later?
Sergio Perez has cooled down after being rather frustrated with Liam Lawson following the Mexican Grand Prix. Perez was really unhappy with the Visa Cash App RB driver after they battled on track and made contact. It caused damage to Perez's RB20 and he believes that cost him and Red Bull crucial points.
Perez had a nightmare weekend in Mexico. He failed to escape Q1 and started from 18th on the grid. He made a blunder, by starting too far forward and got hit with a sloppy five-second penalty. He had a battle with Lawson, who is a candidate to replace Perez at Red Bull should they decide to do so, and received damage. He tried to pinch the fastest lap bonus point from Ferrari but failed and finished last.
How does Perez feel towards Lawson?
Perez was quite outspoken after the race at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez. Has his opinion changed half a week later? "For me this is obviously in the heat of the moment. Now there's been a little bit of time to digest. I think all I can say is that the race was looking great for both of us at the time. Being on the alternative strategy, it was the start of the race. There were big opportunities and I think there was no need to come together," Perez said.
The Mexican spoke to Helmut Marko and Christian Horner about the incident after the race. "I think we viewed it the same way," he said. "I think there was no need to have the contact whatsoever. I think the races for both cars were looking great. There was no need to come together." The incident occurred on the 18th lap. Both drivers were then fighting for tenth place, both on hard tyres.
Perez stated in Mexico late on Sunday that he hoped Lawson would refrain from such actions in the future. He held back when asked if he got the response he was hoping for. "I think we were all aligned in it. We all felt similar. We looked pretty quick at the time. We definitely lost important points and at the end of the day that's what really matters."
This article has been created in collaboration with Corwin Kunst