Mexican driver Checo Pérez celebrates victory at the Monaco Grand Prix this Sunday.CHRISTIAN BRUNA (EFE)
Before getting into the car, Checo Pérez showed off a special helmet dedicated to Pedro Rodríguez, the legendary Mexican driver of the sixties.
That mystique allowed him to have a good race at the Monaco Grand Prix in which he was able to take advantage of a monumental error by Ferrari when changing tires.
The Mexican wandered through the exclusive Monegasque streets with the Mexican flag.
“[The victory] is a dream come true.
As a driver you dream of winning here.
After the race at home, there is no other more special than in Monaco.
[I had to deal] with tire degradation, not making any mistakes and keeping Carlos [Sainz] at bay was not easy.
It's a great day for me and for my country”, commented the Red Bull driver, third in the drivers' championship (110 points) behind Charles Leclerc (116) and Max Verstappen (125).
"There you have it, Monaco," congratulated Red Bull engineer Hugh Bird dryly.
“What a brilliant race!” commented Christian Horner, the boss of the energy drink team.
“Checo was phenomenal all weekend.
Strategically I don't think we had the fastest car today, but we made it work," said Horner.
The Mexican swept through free practice, but had a problem in the final round of qualifying that caused him to lose the stability of the car and crash.
"Let's go!
Well done.
I'm really sorry for yesterday, but I told you there was going to be champagne today,” Pérez told his team over the radio.
"Thank you very much, guys, I feel very proud to be part of this team," launched the Mexican who, at the end of the season, will see the end of his contract with Red Bull, unless they offer him an extension.
The Austrian team will make the decision in a few weeks and is weighing the option of giving Pierre Gasly a chance again, fourteenth in the season.
The other two victories that Pérez achieved in Formula 1 were also full of drama.
In 2020, at Sakhir, he won despite suffering a puncture and coming off the bottom of the grid;
in 2021 he triumphed after the restart of the race on the last lap and also due to a bad maneuver by Lewis Hamilton.
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