When Sergio Perez crossed the finish line in P3 at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, it almost felt like he had actually won the Mexican Grand Prix. Especially his father, Antonio Perez Garibay, was overjoyed when he spent the entire post-race celebrations with the Mexican flag on his shoulders.
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Indeed, there was a lot of emotion emanating from every single Mexican who showed up for the event. But it wasn’t just with the Mexicans and the Red Bull family that the emotions stopped, tears also apparently ran down Charles Leclerc’s eyes as Antonio celebrated his son’s success.
Formula 1 F1 – Mexico City Grand Prix – Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, Mexico City, Mexico – Red Bull’s Sergio Perez celebrates third place after the pool race over REUTERS / Francisco Guasco
Why could you ask? Well, Monegasse lost its father Herve Leclerc in 2017 at the age of 54. And Leclerc Jr. mentioned in several interviews that he wished his father were by his side to see his Formula 1 fame.
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But in a colossal accident, Herve died months before Charles made his F1 debut at Alfa Romeo. When he saw Antonio Perez celebrate Sergio Perez’s podium in Mexico, he reminded Leclerc of his father.
DIVE DEEPER
Leclerc called Sergio Perez: Antonio
As reported by Marca, Antonio opened up that Perez received a call from Leclerc the night he took his first podium in Mexico.
“Checo got a call from Charles Leclerc yesterday and said, ‘Checo, you don’t know how happy it made me to see your parents partying like that; Tears came to my eyes, I would have loved it if my father had seen me. ‘I didn’t know that Charles’ father had died and that Charles had spoken to Checo,’ he said.
Formula 1 F1 – Mexico City Grand Prix – Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, Mexico City, Mexico – The third-placed Red Bull driver Sergio Perez celebrates after the race with his family Pool over REUTERS / Francisco Guasco
Leclerc has indeed seen many tragedies, including the loss of his father Herve and his godfather Jules Bianchi; The Monegasque lost two of his greatest motivations within 2 years.
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“The loss of my father and Jules. Two incredibly tough moments in my life that made me stronger as a person and as a driver. I am mentally stronger than before. They will definitely stay with you forever. Unfortunately, I lost my father very early on. It changes you. It changes you forever, ”Leclerc once said in an interview.
Overall, Leclerc managed to make it into F1 despite such mental blows and is doing well with Ferrari. Who knows, soon Monegasque could also raise its first World Cup trophy. So can Leclerc become one of the most successful F1 drivers?
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View history: From prince to queen: when F1 stars interacted with the royal family
The post Perez’s dad reveals Leclerc’s emotional phone call – “I would have loved my dad seeing me” first appeared on monter-une-startup.
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