Sergio Perez expects a “tough battle” but does feel “there” in the fight for victory at the Mexican Grand Prix.
The home favourite was the faster Red Bull driver on Friday, matching Max Verstappen’s time in FP1 before slightly out-pacing the Dutchman in Practice 2.
And with the roars of the crowd ringing in his ears, Checo is confident of carrying that pace into the weekend.
“It was a tricky, tricky day as usual in Mexico with the altitude,” said Perez. “Everything is floating around so fairly easy to make mistakes.
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“Obviously FP2 was mainly for Pirelli, but FP1 we got a good base, and we seem to be there.
“We got up to speed fairly quickly so should be straightforward tomorrow hopefully, but you can always expect different things.
“Ferrari seems to be strong, also Mercedes, so it’s going to be a tough battle tomorrow.”
After the raucous reaction from the crowd after Sergio finished on the podium in Mexico last year, many wonder what would happen if the Guadalajara native became the first home winner at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.
And on Thursday, Perez admitted he was one of them.
“I’ve dreamt a few times already about it,” he said. “It would be massive for me. Obviously, that’s the target for Sunday.
It’s only Friday and the Foro Sol is already ? #MexicoGP pic.twitter.com/MSfTvsyfqn
— Oracle Red Bull Racing (@redbullracing) October 28, 2022
“It will not be easy. We need to be perfect throughout the weekend, so I think all the focus will be now on the racing stuff to try to maximise the weekend.
“At the end of the day, it’s another weekend with the same amount of points, but it’s the most special one for me.”
One thing Checo wants to ensure though is that if he does win his home race, he will have earned it and not been gifted it.
“I don’t need to be given anything,” Perez told ESPN. “I have achieved everything without any gifts for so many years – not that it is necessary.”
And with Verstappen going for a record 14th win of the season, happily the two-time world champion isn’t in the mood to give up a victory.
“It’s not about giving presents,” he told Sky Sports. “As long as we finish first and second then the team is happy.
“I mean, Checo is good enough to win races on his own and it’s way more rewarding anyway to do it like that. So we’ll see this weekend where we are.
“Of course, having your own Grand Prix is just an amazing feeling anyway and I’m sure he will do well.”
