Sergio Perez has been struggling in his Red Bull for the past few Grands Prix, this weekend at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez Circuit was expected to be a turnaround for the Mexican driver as he was welcomed with roaring adoration on his home turf. However, Perez’s expected fairytale turned sour before the entire grid even got past turn 1. The Red Bull driver collided with Charles Leclerc and was put out of contention in the very first turn.

Frederic Vasseur, the Boss at Ferrari, commented on the collision and surprisingly acquitted Sergio Perez of blame. Vasseur pointed out how 3 cars were side-by-side on the entry of the corner. Max Verstappen produced a marvelous start from P3 while Perez got an even better one from P5, this blistering start off the line saw Perez compete with Leclerc and Verstappen as the three approached Turn 1. Perez tried a move on Leclerc’s Ferrari from the outside and was met with resistance, resulting in the collision and his DNF from the Mexican Grand Prix.

Vasseur referred to Leclerc being ‘sandwiched’ between the two Red Bull Drivers as he talked about it, as reported by [Autosport].

I think this is the problem that arises at the start and if you are on the same line with three men towards turn 1. They asked me if it was a sandwich, but I said it was more of a panini for us! In the end, you can't blame anyone. Max can't go over the kerbs, and Charles was in the middle.

Sergio Perez terms his first lap collision Mexican GP ‘The Saddest’ moment of his career

Thousands of Mexican fans graced the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez Circuit and expected to see their home hero, Sergio Perez bounce back into his form following his Podium drought. These Fans, however, were left gasping as they saw the Mexican driver shunted out of the race in the very first lap. Perez has finally commented on his Mexican GP weekend and termed it the ‘saddest moment’ of his career.

Sergio Perez commented on it right after he had to walk away from the first lap of his home race where he desperately wanted to win.

I've had some really sad moments in my career, and certainly this is the saddest one because of the end result, but at the end of the day it's just racing.

Perez was on a brilliant start from P5 as he launched his Red Bull marvelously off of the starting line. Perez’s weekend had started unraveling itself from Friday as the Mexican driver was out-qualified by Daniel Ricciardo in an AlphaTauri.

Perez’s dismal form and results have landed him in debates regarding a possible switch between the AlphaTauri and the Red Bull Garage. Many claim that Red Bull had employed Daniel Ricciardo to put pressure on Sergio Perez to produce better results. It appears, however, that the 33-year-old is succumbing to the added pressure. It’s left to be seen whether Perez’s 2024 seat could be in danger.

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