Mexican Checo Pérez shows off his special helmet for the Mexican Grand Prix. EDGARD GARRIDO (REUTERS)
Every year, the Slims receive Checo Pérez before his Grand Prix to shower him with praise, advertise the technology company together with the athlete and publicly say that, after years of heavy investment, they have a driver in the select world of Formula 1. This year has been the best, with two victories in the 10 times he has been on the podium.
While Pérez gave his press conference on Wednesday, there were the
Czechs
, fans of the Mexican dressed in all the Red Bull clothing, as if they were mannequins.
Everyone, crowded to look for an impossible photograph or autograph.
“It has been an intense season.
The most special triumph in my career was Monaco, it is as always a dream, [because] you enter the history of world motorsports”, began the Mexican.
The Mexican press, excited to have an idol in the sport, questioned what he preferred: to consolidate himself as the runner-up in the world, make it 1-2 with Max Verstappen for Red Bull, or win for the first time at the Mexico City Grand Prix .
"Without a doubt, to win Mexico, it's a dream I've had since I was a child and to be runner-up in the world... It never has been," he replied.
On the possibility that Verstappen and Red Bull let him win, there are high expectations.
“I have the support of Red Bull, I have to be perfect to win the race”, considered the Mexican.
Verstappen, a winning machine at all costs, has said that he fights for victory in every race.
Not for nothing is he already the two-time Formula 1 champion. "I hope to win, I have the opportunity to do so," he added.
Come on Czech!
🇲🇽 Revealing a special Mexican lid for the #MexicoGP 😍 pic.twitter.com/lX0VxfchCx
— Oracle Red Bull Racing (@redbullracing) October 26, 2022
In Mexico the Grand Prix is taken very seriously.
Since 2015, the country has completely dedicated itself to filling the Hermanos Rodríguez racetrack and has won the award for best Formula 1 event in five editions.
Support for Checo Pérez took off in 2021 when Red Bull signed him.
In the Mexican oasis there is no other great idol.
In Europe, the mecca of F1, the press and analysts have been very harsh on the Mexican.
Has he suffered racism? This newspaper asked the pilot.
“The truth is that no, the only thing is that maybe if I have a good race, there is not as much talk as if I were a European driver, and if I have a bad race, there is more talk.
I am very lucky to be Mexican, I think that very few drivers in the history of the sport have been able to experience the level of support that I have in my country”, he commented.
“There is a good talent in my country, in Latin America, it is a sport where there are not many opportunities, where one or two places are opened per year.
It will depend on how much [the young talents] fight for their dreams.
We are living the era of the best pilots in history, they arrive very prepared, with a lot of knowledge.
We need the new generations to give everything,” said Pérez, 32 years old.
Pérez presented his special helmet for this weekend with a design that refers to a Catrina or Catrín and to the chopped paper that is used in the offerings for the Day of the Dead.
The winner of the classification will get a replica helmet used by the Rodríguez brothers, Mexican legends of motorsports.
"It would be very special to have it in my collection, it is a great piece as a Mexican and a fan," he said.
Formula 1 will start this weekend in what will be the perfect magnet for the Mexican economy with the profits from the Grand Prix, the surge in tourist arrivals and the celebration of the Day of the Dead.
The Secretariat of Economic Development of Mexico City estimates an economic benefit of 4,731 million pesos.
A victory, or a podium in any case, for Checo Pérez would unleash the Mexican revelry.
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