Sergio Perez sent message to Mexican GP crowd after they booed Lewis Hamilton
Sergio Perez was clear in his instructions to the crowd at his home Grand Prix after Lewis Hamilton was booed.
Red Bull star Sergio Perez leapt to the defence of Lewis Hamilton after the Mercedes star was subjected to boos from the crowd at the Mexican Grand Prix. Hamilton admitted he had been left with mixed emotions after being constantly jeered by fans at the circuit and when it occurred during the drivers' post-race celebrations, Perez made a point of urging supporters to stop.
Related articles
Hamilton came home in second place behind Max Verstappen, who claimed a record 14th win this season, with Perez taking the final podium place in front of his proud family. But the large contingent of Red Bull fans did not take kindly to Hamilton finishing ahead of their home favourite and made their feelings known with boos audible during his post-race interview.
Mexican driver Perez was then spotted wagging his finger in their direction, appearing to gesture to the fans to cease their booing of Hamilton, as he stepped up to the microphone. And, despite being targeted by large sections of the stadium stand, the seven-time world champion insisted he had "so much love" for the Mexico City crowd and the race itself.
“This has been an amazing crowd, definitely a bit awkward this time around with boos all day,” Hamilton said.
READ MORE: Verstappen reacts after breaking new record with Mexican GP win
“But, nevertheless I have so much love for Mexico and for the people here. What a great race and an event they've put on this weekend.
“I was so close in that first stint but I think the Red Bull was clearly too fast today and ultimately, maybe they had the better tyre strategy.”
Perez and Hamilton were within close proximity for the majority of the race after Mercedes' gamble to go on a one-stop strategy on the hard tyre backfired, with the Red Bull able to make the medium tyre last nearly 50 laps with no clear drop-off in pace.
LATEST F1 NEWS
Verstappen outdoes Hamilton in Mexico as Ricciardo sends out reminder
Verstappen and Red Bull's boycott of Sky Sports F1 explained
Verstappen shares two reasons Lewis Hamilton fans boo him
Eventually, the Briton came home around five seconds clear of Perez and the Red Bull driver admitted he found it difficult to get close to Hamilton after being left hampered by spending five seconds stationary at his pit stop.
"I gave my best today at the start I really pushed hard, unfortunately we had a bit of a bad stop which left us a bit weak and overtaking is so difficult," Perez said.
"I got behind him and it was really difficult to follow. Unfortunately, it didn't work out. It’s a good podium. In front of this crowd I really wanted more but third place is still a good day.”
The result means Hamilton has leapfrogged Carlos Sainz into fifth in the Drivers' Championship with two races left, while Perez has reclaimed second from Charles Leclerc following the Monegasque's disappointing P6 in the Ferrari.
