Sergio Perez thrilled his home fans by finishing on the podium of the 2021 Mexican GP, the first time that a Formula 1 driver from the country has finished the event in the top three.
The Red Bull driver also achieved another first by being the first Mexican to lead the race, after he delayed his pit stop to take the lead for six of the 71 laps at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez on Sunday.
"An unbelievable day," Perez said after a close finish which saw him dogging Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton for second place all the way to the chequered flag but not quite pulling off the crucial pass in time.
"Definitely being on the podium in your home Grand Prix is something very, very special," he continued. "Obviously I wanted more, wanted to win the race - obviously to finish one-two for the team would have been amazing, you know?
"It was really close," he said. "There was a lap where it was so critical to do the undercut. Obviously, they pitted that lap, so we did the opposite and we went long.
"It was a bit tricky with the lapped cars as well. I reckon we all lost some time there, it was really close.
"Overtaking here is really difficult given their straight line speed that they were really strong on that. It was just that I had the chance. Bit of as shame, because I think we had the pace to finish one-two today.
"At the end of the day, we are competitive persons, that if we finish third we really don’t enjoy it!", he laughed. “But today is one of those days that I must enjoy because the crowd and just seeing so many people happy.
"And especially on the podium because everybody that has been with me pretty much from day one was on the podium. So that was extremely special for me
Indicating the huge crowd, Perez added: "I still gave my full heart for these people, and I could actually hear them when I was going through here. It was pretty enjoyable, it was full of support."
The result marks the first time that Perez himself has been on three consecutive podiums in his F1 career that spans 209 races dating back to his debut in 2011 in Australia for Sauber.
With Verstappen and Perez finishing in the top three and Valtteri Bottas failing to score any championship points this weekend, Mercedes' advantage over Red Bull in the constructors championship has shrunk to a single point.
Verstappen was quick to applaud the contribution of his team mate to this year's championship campaign. “Checo the last few races has really picked it up and he’s there
“He was of course pressuring Lewis as well towards the end," he added. "It is really good to have both cars on the podium, especially for Checo here at his home Grand Prix, that was incredible to see.”
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