Red Bull’s Sergio Perez has criticised RB driver Liam Lawson’s attitude after the pair came to blows in Formula 1’s Mexican Grand Prix.
Perez and Lawson, the driver who is aiming to take his Red Bull seat, clashed in Turn 4 when the former attempted to overtake the New Zealander on lap 19.
Perez claimed the left-hand corner by being ahead of the apex and pushed Lawson off, but the 22-year-old kept his foot in and remained alongside for the Turn 5 switchback, with his front-left corner taking a bite out of Perez’s floor edge and sidepod.
The downforce loss from the floor damage further derailed Perez’s home race, with the Mexican having started from the rear due to a botched qualifying session, compounded by a five-second penalty for being outside of his grid slot at the start.
To add insult to injury, Lawson later breezed past him on the straight while giving him the finger, and Perez was incensed by the Kiwi’s attitude in their battles, with Lawson having previously drawn the ire of Fernando Alonso in Austin.
“I had the manoeuvre into Turn 4 and then he was outside the track and just came straight like if there was no car,” Perez said.
“I think he could have avoided the incident but he just went back. Luckily I saw him and I opened the room otherwise it would have been a massive crash. There was no need. We damaged both of our races. It was a little bit too much.
Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing RB20
Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool
“He’s not getting any penalties as well. He did the same with Fernando, with Franco [Colapinto] in the end. There are no penalties, so none of this is his fault as well.”
When asked how his relationship with Lawson is, he snapped back: ‘I don’t have any relationship with him. I think the way he has come to Formula 1, I don’t think he has the right attitude for it. He needs to be a bit more humble.
“When a two-time world champion was saying things last weekend, he completely ignored him. It’s like when you come to Formula 1, you’re obviously very hungry and so on, but you have to be respectful as well, off track and on track.
“I don’t think he’s showing the right attitude. I think he’s a great driver and I hope for him that he can step back and learn from it.
“In his first two grands prix he has had many incidents. I think there will be a point where it can cost him too much, like it did this weekend.
“I just think that he has to have the right attitude to say: ‘Look, probably I’m overdoing it a little bit, I will step back and start again’. Because if you don’t learn from your mistakes, Formula 1 is a brutal world and he might not continue.”
When Perez was asked if he felt Lawson was racing him harder because of the Red Bull seat that is at stake, he responded: “Well, he nearly crashed with Fernando last weekend, he nearly crashed with Franco. I think he’s just racing everyone out of control at the moment.”
