Sergio Perez explained how he went for racing without any water to drink, saying it was the most exhausting race he had ever driven.
Perez’s drinking water system stopped working before the US GP began. He did not think it would be a big deal, but 20 laps into the race, he would start regretting his decision.
The Mexican finished third, taking the last spot on the podium. However, it was literal hell for Checo, and by the end of it, he was more burned out than happy.
Perez explained how he went for racing without any water to drink, and said that it was a case of just getting over the line.
“It was crazy, yes. I wasn’t feeling well this morning and from Lap 1 onwards I had no drink at all. It was extremely tough, already from Lap 20 I was completely gone,” he told the official F1 website.
“I had no strength, I was losing strength on my hands, strength on my feet, the vision as well was getting quite uncomfortable, and it was just a surviving mode: trying to keep up.
“It was a time that if I had (a) bad moment, I wouldn’t be able to control the car, so it was the longest race of my life, no doubt about that.”
Crowd hero
In front of a large section of Mexican fans, Perez put in a shift and gave them something to cheer for. His result saw Red Bull close the gap to Mercedes to 23 points, and he is hoping that he gets the boost to perform at this level for the rest of the season.
“Yes, that’s the positive bit, you know – the energy from the people really kept me going, my family was here,” he continued.
“I really wanted them to see me on the podium and yes I look forward to Mexico (GP) now.
“We have a good package; we will be strong over there. Typically, Red bull have been extremely strong in Mexico, so yes, I look forward to it massively and I really hope that we can keep going on the podium again,” he concluded.
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