Checo Pérez celebrates his victory at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix this Sunday.GIUSEPPE CACACE (AFP)
Checo Pérez disguises himself as a hero again. The Mexican won the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, his fifth Formula One victory, thanks to a dream weekend as he claimed pole position, holding off Fernando Alonso and eventually passing two-time champion Max Verstappen. Pérez sent the message to Red Bull that he also knows what it takes to win. The one from Guadalajara has also established itself as a luxury specialist for road courses such as this time Azerbaijan, Monaco and Singapore. “The team worked very hard over the weekend, we had a lot of mechanical problems. We will keep pushing, we were the fastest car on the track,” said Pérez. Completing the podium were Verstappen and George Russell, who took the place of a last-minute penalized Alonso.
Pérez had a joyous weekend by finishing in the top three of the personal bests. The Mexican’s great joy was holding the best lap in qualifying, aided by the misfortune of Verstappen, who got stuck in third gear and his car stopped bouncing. Pérez campaigned for Red Bull to be the first to start from pole position at the Jeddah circuit this Sunday. It was the second time in 13 years in Formula 1 that he had achieved this privileged position, the first being at the same circuit last year. The launch was a test of survival against reincarnated Fernando Alonso and George Russell. The Mexican got off to a bad start, giving way to an aggressive Alonso. However, the Spaniard made a mistake at the start due to poor positioning, earning him a five-second delay as he pitted. It was a breather for the trailing Checo Pérez.
More information
On lap four, the Slims’ favorite took the lead from Alonso. From that point on, the Red Bull driver’s mission was to close the gap to the Aston Martin. Pérez had a two-time Formula One champion behind him, a man who retired in 2019 and came out of retirement two years later. As the Mexican fled and fled, Verstappen overtook rivals like there was no tomorrow from position fifteen.
In lap 18 the drama began. Lance Stroll’s Aston Martin had to be parked on the track due to a braking problem. That led to a safety car. Pérez changed tyres, as did Alonso and Verstappen, so it was a restart of the race, a fresh start. There, Checo Pérez defended better against Alonso to be more than three seconds ahead of the Spaniard and set the fastest laps. In the middle of the race, Verstappen climbed to second place, which opened the wound at Red Bull: let their two drivers compete against each other? Giving Verstappen free rein despite Pérez’s great weekend?
Checo Pérez’s car overtakes Fernando Alonso’s car at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. Hassan Ammar (AP)
The Mexican and the Dutch went to the limit. If first broke the lap record, second would snatch it away. Pérez forced to keep the five second gap. Verstappen complained that he heard a strange noise in the car as he drove at full speed. The two-time champion’s caution was no exaggeration after his Red Bull stranded him in qualifying on Saturday. The Guadalajara native also told his engineer Hugh Bird that he was having brake problems. The Mexican was later asked to maintain a slower pace than Verstappen’s. Over the radio, Pérez repeated the decision until they released him. Pérez was more than six seconds ahead of his partner. There was nothing wrong with Checo Pérez clinching a win he scored from the start.
28 podiums and five wins for Checo Pérez in Formula 1
Sergio Pérez, statistically the best Mexican driver in history, achieved his twenty-eighth podium in Formula 1. He celebrates five victories: Shakhir 2020, Baku 2021, Monaco and Singapore 2022 and Saudi Arabia 2023). In addition to 11 second places (Malaysia and Italy 2012, Turkey 2020, Australia, Imola, Spain, Baku, Great Britain, Belgium and Japan 2022, plus 2nd place in Bahrain 2023) and 12 third places (Canada, in 2012; Bahrain 2014; Russia 2015 , Monaco and Baku 2016 and 2018, at the French, Turkish, United States Grand Prix, Mexico City 2021 and 2022 and Abu Dhabi 2022).
Subscribe here to the EL PAÍS México newsletter and receive all the important information about current events in this country