Instead of pointing fingers after his clash with Valtteri Bottas in Shanghai, Sergio Pérez openly accepted the blame and apologized following the dramatic start of the Chinese Grand Prix.
Sergio Pérez made a gesture and offered words of support to Valtteri Bottas after their collision at the Chinese Grand Prix—something few could have imagined.
The Mexican driver crashed into his teammate at the start of the race in Shanghai. Fortunately for him, he was able to finish the race, unlike many others.
Checo’s gesture toward Bottas as he got out of his car went viral on social media. The moment was captured by the onboard camera and showed the Mexican shaking hands with the Finn as they both looked at the damaged part of Bottas’s car.
Later, speaking to the media, the No. 11 driver had this to say about the incident: “The contact with Bottas was my fault; I was too optimistic, so my apologies to Valtteri and the team. It ended up costing me the race. I was about to pass him, but I had issues with energy management, losing 5 to 15 seconds,” said the Jalisco native.
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What happened at the Chinese Grand Prix?
The second race of the year was once again marked by a string of retirements and DNFs due to mechanical issues. In the opening minutes, it was announced that Gabriel Bortoleto and Alexander Albon would not start the race, and the McLarens of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri also failed to start the Grand Prix.
At the start, with four cars already out (DNF), Lewis Hamilton took the lead, with Charles Leclerc also moving up to third place. Franco Colapinto also gained a few positions, though others like Sergio Pérez weren’t so lucky, as the Mexican driver ended up colliding with Valtteri Bottas, his teammate.
It didn’t take long for Mercedes to reclaim the lead, and by the third lap, Kimi Antonelli had taken the race lead. The positions seemed to stabilize until, on lap 11, Lance Stroll retired from the race, triggering a Safety Car deployment.
Colapinto decided to stay out, which allowed him to move up the grid. At the restart, the Argentine dropped to fifth place, while Antonelli remained in the lead. On lap 25, two intense battles broke out on the track, with Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton fighting for third place, while further back, Franco Colapinto tried to defend his fifth-place position from Esteban Ocon.
By lap 29, Russell had returned behind Antonelli after easily passing the Ferraris, who were still battling each other, while Colapinto had moved back up to eighth place, though he still hadn’t pitted. It was on lap 33 of the race that Franco pitted, though upon exiting the pits he encountered Ocon again, resulting in a collision that sent Franco down to 12th position.
Toward the end of the race, the string of DNFs continued, and it was Fernando Alonso who ultimately had to retire due to vibrations in his Aston Martin. A few laps later, Max Verstappen also retired due to mechanical issues.
Leclerc decided not to battle Hamilton for the final podium spot, while Antonelli held onto P1 and returned to Italy with an F1 victory, his first since 2006.
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