This is how Sergio ‘Checo’ Pérez won F1 after 10 years of trying

The Mexican driver got his first victory in his entire Formula One career this Sunday.

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December 6, 2020 3 min read

This article was translated from our Spanish edition using AI technologies. Errors may exist due to this process.

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The Mexican driver Sergio ‘Checo’ Pérez , in his penultimate race with the Racing Point team and without a team for next season, achieved the first victory of his career in Formula One on Sunday in an extraordinary Sakhir Grand Prix.

Checo becomes the first Mexican to be at the top of the podium 50 years after Pedro Rodríguez did it in 1970.

“I am speechless. I hope I am not dreaming. Ten years it took me. I do not know what to say. After the first lap, the race was over, but it was about not giving up. I think today we win on merits. ” , expressed Sergio Pérez.

Frenchman Esteban Ocon finished second with Renault and Canadian Lance Stroll was third with Racing Point, as champions Mercedes ruined their career with a failed pit stop.

Checo Pérez, with his future in the ‘Gran Circo’ in the air, retaliated for his bad drink last week also in Bahrain when he saw the podium slip away on the last lap.

This time, fortune smiled at him in a GP that had everything, although he also had to perform his miracle.

The absence of champion Lewis Hamilton , down due to coronavirus, opened a new scenario that did not disappoint with an unusual podium. A driver without a car for next year like Pérez, who was last in the second lap , won in the penultimate round of a World Championship that will end in Abu Dhabi next week.

The Mexican was affected by a rough exit. Valtteri Bottas, the great one singled out for not making his Mercedes perform, came out slow and generated a stopper that disturbed from behind. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) went under braking and took ‘Checo’, while avoiding the crash Max Verstappen (Red Bull) went against the wall.

Image: Reuters via High Level

  Victory with uncertain future

On November 30, Checo Pérez said that his short-term future is still unclear after he will end his relationship with Racing Point at the end of the season and so far he is considering three possibilities: Being hired by the Red Bull team; take a year off or be a reserve pilot.

On September 9, Mexican Racing Point driver Sergio Pérez announced that he will leave the Formula One team at the end of the current season. ” After seven years together, my cycle with the team will come to an end at the end of the season (…) Personally it hurts because I bet a lot for the team in very difficult moments, we managed to get ahead,” said Pérez in his account of Twitter

Image: Reuters via High Level

With information from Reuters and Europa Press.