Happy birthday Sergio Pérez: his 5 most beautiful moments!

Right arm of Max Verstappen, Minister of Defense on the track and the most victorious Mexican in the history of Formula 1, Sergio Pérez is patience made pilot with six victories in 257 starts and a first success at the 190th attempt. A look back at the five best moments of his career Czech.

His first victory in Sakhir

Pilot of undeniable talent, Czech had to wait until Sakhir 2020 to open his victory counter in the premier category. At the wheel of his Racing Point, the Mexican hangs on with Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) from the start of the race.

Pérez reacted immediately. He goes to the pits, modifies his tire strategy, returns to the track last on the grid... and begins a remontada exceptional. In 60 laps, he recovered third place behind the single-seaters of Valtteri Bottas and George Russell. Mercedes rolls towards a double… until she tangles the brushes herself. Or rather the tires. They cede the lead of the Grand Prix to Pérez who somehow leads his pink car to the finish line. Behind, Esteban Ocon (Renault) could not compete.

© Florent Gooden / DPPI

This performance puts an end to the endless shortage of Czech. We had to wait for his 190th start in the premier category. At that point, he remained without a seat for the following season, before Red Bull sees in him the perfect teammate of his Dutch colt, Max Verstappen.

He himself admitted after the race that it seemed to him “ death » from the first laps, but Pérez is a master in the art of finishing at the highest, starting from the lowest. At Silverstone (England) in 2022, he proves it again. Once again, a collision with Leclerc caused him to fall to the back of the grid, having to replace his front wing. At the end of a race dominated by Carlos Sainz (Ferrari), he places his Red Bull on the second step of the podium.

The 2022 Monaco Grand Prix

The 2022 Monaco Grand Prix will surely remain among the Mexican's best memories in his sporting career. “ A dream come true » for the pilot, braving all the elements in the principality. And yet, nothing gave him victory before the lights went out.

On Saturday, he qualified third, behind the red wall of the two Ferraris, Charles Leclerc in the lead. But the rain comes on the Rock and the strategic game begins between the Scuderia and Red Bull. The Austrian team won, as often, with Sergio Pérez taking the lead when the Reds slowed down the Monegasque with a double pit stop.

Then the victory remained in the hands of a Czech in control of a delicate car, the tires collapsing visibly. Carlos Sainz could do nothing to save the honor of the Prancing Horse. The Iberian can only see the lap of honor of the Red Bull driver waving his national flag.

He becomes the most successful Mexican in the history of Formula 1. His third career success, the first at the wheel of the RB18, his teammate closing the podium. A success that Pérez widely celebrated…

…But whose taste was spoiled a posteriori. While his crash during qualifying in Monaco stopped the session definitively, it at the same time canceled the lap of a clearly improving Max Verstappen. An incident turned into a fire a few meetings later, in Brazil. The Dutchman accuses his teammate of having deliberately caused the end of the qualifying session, thus keeping the advantage of track position for the next day. The revenge: Verstappen refuses to give the place back to the Mexican at the end of the São Paulo Grand Prix, depriving the native of Guadalajara of precious points to secure an honorary title of vice-champion.

Sergio Pérez during his victory in Monaco. ©Antonin Vincent / DPPI

His “best performance” in Singapore

The 2022 season was one of success for Checo, who became king of urban circuits. Charles Leclerc, Singapore poleman, thought he was calm with Max Verstappen starting from the middle of the grid. But the threat Sergio Pérez fell on the Monegasque from the start, Checo diving inside to take the lead of the race... and never leave it again. The track dries up, the pressure intensifies and the chaos in Singapore causes several Safety Cars which will put the Mexican under investigation by the stewards at the end of the event. 5 seconds of penalty later, Checo clearly won and showed his domination on urban tracks.

Already at the start of the season, he scored his first pole in Jeddah (Saudi Arabia), becoming the 103rd driver in Formula 1 history to dominate a qualifying session. To gain this new line in his list of achievements, he will have had to wait for 215 Grands Prix. 

Malaysia 2012, on the verge of victory

Pérez made his debut in Formula 1 in 2011. From 2012, he excelled in his ability to manage his tires. A characteristic that will follow him throughout his career until today. And, at the Malaysian Grand Prix in 2012, it will be particularly useful to him. 

While a Sauber driver, the Mexican managed to hoist his car in Q3 of the qualifying session. Which, already, constituted a great performance. It is placed in the exhaust pipe of the Ferrari Fernando Alonso, and it will stay there until the end of the race.

The start is taken in rain which will continue to intensify. Czech is the first to dive into the pits to get rid of his intermediates and put on the rain tires. What his competitors will do a few laps later, and the first red flag of the race will see Pérez place fourth.

The event restarts, he takes the lead in a Grand Prix for the first time in Formula 1 thanks to the pit stops of the drivers in front of him. But Alonso came back, overtook him and, despite the impeccable performance, an exit from the track by the Mexican, then aged 22, definitively deprived him of his chances of victory. He finished second for what will be the first of his 26 podiums in his career, current series.

Baku 2023, the perfect weekend

Sergio Pérez is truly the king of urban racing! The Mexican scored his sixth victory in Formula 1 on the streets of Baku for the 2023 Azerbaijan Grand Prix. The Red Bull driver broke the current series on the Azeri track: never has a driver won twice at Baku is now a done deal. “Checo” is even a hit after his victory on Saturday during the Sprint race.

A victory that he owes in particular to the Safety Car, deployed at the start of the race after the accident Nyck de Vries. His teammate Max Verstappen, in the lead before his pit stop, lost positions with the intervention of the safety car. Sergio Pérez, in the lead at the time of the yellow flag, stopped during the Safety Car and came out first, never letting go of the controls of the race until the finish.

© DPPI

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