F1 News: Martin Brundle Picks Out Sergio Perez Blunders Causing Mexican GP Crash

Sergio Perez crashed as a result of two errors in the opening lap of the Mexican GP, according to Brundle.

Former driver and Sky F1 Pundit Martin Brundle pointed out two 200 MPH split-second errors Sergio Perez made in the opening lap of the Mexican Grand Prix that caused him to crash and retire from the race. 

Having started fifth on the grid, Perez was in a hurry to take the lead on his home turf as soon as the race began. To do so, he tried to overtake Charles Leclerc on the outside of Turn 1 but collided with his car and ended up getting a DNF. 

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Expressing in his column for Sky Sports F1, Brundle analyzed the Mexican crash in detail and also questioned if the additional cheering from the Mexican crowd turned out to be more of a distraction for Perez than a support system. He wrote:

“We debated whether the hugely vocal and animated support for Sergio was an added pressure to the relatively poor form he’s found himself in since the Monaco GP, or if it was just the motivation he needed while surfing the adoration.

"Perez did everything right until the turn-in into Turn 1. From fifth on the grid, he made a great start, picked up the slipstream of the three now ahead of him, and spotted the gap perfectly on the left-hand side which was also the cleaner, wider racing line into the first corner.

"He was in a way a victim of his own great start and good decisions because he was now level with [Charles] Leclerc and [Max] Verstappen for the lead. He explained afterwards that having been on the podium here twice he wanted to lead the race and take a glorious victory, which is where it sadly went wrong.”

The Two Critical Errors

Maybe, the urge and desperation to get ahead and prove himself might have caused Perez to act in haste. Brundle added that the 33-year-old driver made two critical errors in judgment that caused him to go wrong in a split second at 200 MPH. He added:

“In the split second at 200mph, he made two errors.

"He assumed the squeezed Ferrari of Leclerc in the middle would brake earlier, and presumably the same for Verstappen on the dusty inside line which would make the corner much tighter for him. Neither rival braked early and they remained fully in control of their cars.

"Sergio’s biggest mistake was that he turned into the corner too hard and too early, he needed to run a wider line around the outside and seize the high ground into the second part of the chicane.

"Leclerc had little room to manoeuvre with Verstappen on his inside, but Perez’s overlap was quite significant and the contact between wide and sticky F1 tyres sent him skywards and soon into retirement. It was the last thing he, his team, or the fans and race promoter needed.”