Breaking news
Formula 1
Perez hits out at "bullshit" reports about Mexico trip
Sergio Perez has hit back at claims he met with a sponsor and fans during a trip back to Mexico after the Hungarian Grand Prix, calling the reports "bullshit".
Luke Smith
Edited: Aug 13, 2020, 3:40 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Perez became the first Formula 1 driver to test positive for COVID-19 ahead of the British Grand Prix, ruling him out of both Silverstone races.
It emerged Perez had returned home to Mexico to visit his mother in hospital between the races in Hungary and Great Britain, travelling on a private plane.
Perez has since tested negative for COVID-19 and will return to his Racing Point F1 seat for this weekend's Spanish Grand Prix.
Reports emerged in the wake of Perez's positive test suggesting he had met with sponsors and interacted with fans during his trip to Mexico.
Perez was quick to deny these claims upon his return to the F1 paddock in Barcelona on Thursday, calling them "very unprofessional".
"It's a total lie," Perez said in an interview with F1. "I went to Mexico for two days to see my Mum, with all the precautions in place. I took care of everything. I followed all the guidelines.
"When I was in quarantine, I saw everything. I saw people saying I was taking selfies with a lot of people, and I made up the story about my Mum. So much bullshit, and so disrespectful.
"So many people here in Formula 1 tend to think we are bulletproof to the virus, and that is not the case. We are all very vulnerable to this, We have to take care of it.
"I have done nothing differently to anyone in this paddock, I took all the precautions, and it just happened to me. It happened to another friend in another team while I was in quarantine, he said: 'Look, I tested positive too'. It can just happen to anyone.
"But what kind of happened, if tomorrow there is someone else infected, people just make up stories instead of being worried about their health."
Read Also:
- Perez: Vettel Racing Point rumours will eventually go away
- Horner: Mercedes could be guilty in Racing Point case
The positive COVID-19 test forced Perez to miss two F1 races while he completed his quarantine period, which he spent in an apartment in Milton Keynes.
Asked by Motorsport.com if he planned to make any changes to his procedures or travel arrangements in the wake of his positive case, Perez said he had already been taking all of the required precautions and would continue to do so.
"Before that, we already were so conservative and took so many precautions that nothing really changes," Perez said. "Whether you are positive or negative, the procedures are very similar. The amount of precautions that we take have been already in place.
"Any place I visited and anything I did after Hungary, everything was done with extreme precautions, with very extreme lines. I was well aware of what is going on, and I think I was just unlucky.
"I haven't done anything different to the rest of the paddock. I'm not willing to take any blame for that, because anyone can get it, and I was just an unlucky one."
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article F1 technical update: Racing Point, Mercedes, Red Bull & Ferrari
Next article McLaren cooling problem a "question mark”, says Sainz
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Luke Smith
1998 Belgian GP: When the Schumachers went to war
Formula 1
Formula 1
1998 Belgian GP: When the Schumachers went to war
The race that transformed perceptions of Red Bull
Formula 1
Formula 1
The race that transformed perceptions of Red Bull
Hamilton in the process of selecting Brad Pitt’s co-star for F1 movie
Formula 1
Formula 1
Hamilton in the process of selecting Brad Pitt’s co-star for F1 movie
More from
Sergio Perez
Cadillac 'honoured' to have Sergio Perez as special 300th race celebration planned for Mexico GP
Formula 1
Formula 1
Mexican GP
1 h
Cadillac 'honoured' to have Sergio Perez as special 300th race celebration planned for Mexico GP
Sergio Perez signs fresh Cadillac F1 deal until 2029
Formula 1
Formula 1
Mexican GP
23 h
Sergio Perez signs fresh Cadillac F1 deal until 2029
Yet another DNF for Cadillac’s Valtteri Bottas: ‘Sometimes we don’t quite understand it’
Formula 1
Formula 1
United States GP
Yet another DNF for Cadillac’s Valtteri Bottas: ‘Sometimes we don’t quite understand it’
Latest news
Does Daniel Ricciardo regret leaving Red Bull for Renault?
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
United States GP
45 min
Does Daniel Ricciardo regret leaving Red Bull for Renault?
Cadillac 'honoured' to have Sergio Perez as special 300th race celebration planned for Mexico GP
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Mexican GP
1 h
Cadillac 'honoured' to have Sergio Perez as special 300th race celebration planned for Mexico GP
Porsche wants 2030 unified rules framework by Christmas before Le Mans decision
IMSA
IMSA IMSA 1 h
Porsche wants 2030 unified rules framework by Christmas before Le Mans decision
Sebastian Vettel reveals why BMW didn't want him – but Red Bull did
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1 2 h
Sebastian Vettel reveals why BMW didn't want him – but Red Bull did
Feature
Discover prime content
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe