Perez insists "intense" Mexican fans harmless despite safety fears

Ewan Gale
Tuesday 1 November 2022 17:00

Sergio Perez has conceded the Mexico City Grand Prix fans were "intense" but insisted his countrymen "will never hurt anyone" after fears grew over driver security.

The weekend saw the paddock filled with feverish scenes as drivers were forced to use security to travel between team hospitality zones and their garages, such was the mass of people flocking around them.

Pierre Gasly revealed his belongings were unsafe and that fans had entered the AlphaTauri garage, whilst Lando Norris urged F1 to kick out those who failed to show respect.

But Perez has backed his home crowd, saying: "Obviously, the Mexicans are really intense of course but they are great people, they will never hurt anyone.

"It is great to see this.

"We don't get to see this in many other countries. It is nice for F1 to enjoy a bit."

Perez warns run to second will can "change race-to-race"

Perez overtook Mercedes driver George Russell on lap one of Sunday's race and eventually finished third to retake second in the drivers' championship from Charles Leclerc.

But Red Bull driver Perez warned: "It can change, race-to-race.

"For now, I just want to go into the next two and aim for the win.

"There’s nothing more to lose, so we will try everything. It’s been a very difficult weekend with far too many issues, so we need to put everything together and then I believe we can do the next step."