Red Bull Racing F1 advisor Helmut Marko commented on the lap one incident between Sergio Perez and Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc.
Sergio Perez went from fifth place on the grid to first and then back to last place in a matter of a few hundred meters at the 2023 Mexico City Grand Prix.
The Mexican driver tried a move around the outside, going three wide with Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen. However, he collided with the Ferrari driver and was launched off the track.
Leclerc told media after the race that Checo probably didn't realize they were three wide going into that corner. Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko said as quoted by Motorsport Italy.
"I would say it was a racing incident. He made a much better start than [Carlos] Sainz and was also ahead of [Charles] Leclerc. He was a bit unlucky."
Both Red Bull drivers had a rocket launch off the line as they both overtook Carlos Sainz before the corner and went side-by-side with Leclerc.
"It was unlucky to see all three of them coming into the corner together like that. I don’t think Checo [Perez] felt pressure in the home race."
Max Verstappen went for a very similar move around the outside into turn one a few years ago, and he managed to pull it off. Marko thinks Perez was right for trying.
"If you have that position and you have a chance to go into the first corner first or second, that’s the best possible situation. That’s why you have to try, and he did well to do that. I wouldn’t say he made an ‘all or nothing’ maneuver."
It might have been the overtake of the year if Perez managed to pull this move. Verstappen, on the other Red Bull, showed an amazing pace, so it would have been reasonable to estimate at least a podium for Checo had he not crashed. Marko concluded:
"It was just a matter of a couple of centimeters: if he had been slightly further ahead, he would have been ahead of Leclerc.
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