"Guys I had nowhere to go": When Charles Leclerc was left stunned after Mexican fans booed him for his collision with Sergio Perez

Back in 2023, Charles Leclerc received immense boos from the fans after the end of the Mexican Grand Prix. Going into Turn 1 on the very first lap of the race at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez Racing Circuit, Leclerc (started P1) made contact with home hero Sergio Perez (started P5), and it led to the latter's DNF.

While Perez bowed out of the race, Charles Leclerc was able to continue in his Ferrari challenger, and he even secured a third-place finish behind Lewis Hamilton (P2) and Max Verstappen (P1).

After the end of the race, the podium finishers lined up in the stadium section of the race track for their respective interviews, and it was at this moment that the fans massively booed Leclerc. In line with the booing, the Monegasque driver tried to explain his situation during the incident and added:

"A lot of booing. A lot of booing!! Guys, honestly, I had nowhere to go, so I was a bit in between the two Red Bulls, and unfortunately, I touched Checo, but I had nowhere to go, so..."

While Charles Leclerc was at the centre of boos from the fans in Mexico City, Sergio Perez, on his end, took the time to dwell on his DNF, and added (post-race):

"I just went for it. To be honest, I didn't expect Charles - he was in the middle, he had less room to manoeuvre - to brake as late as Max and I did." Via: (Sky Sports). "I think simply there was no room for three cars. It was a total racing incident and with hindsight…I shouldn't say that…but in hindsight, I should back off and go home."

"I hated every meter of that first corner": Charles Leclerc on 2025 Mexican GP

F1 Grand Prix Of Mexico City 2025 - Source: Getty

The ongoing 2025 Formula 1 season has proved a bit tough for Charles Leclerc and his team. The SF-25 has not performed as expected, and this is one of the reasons why Leclerc and his teammate Lewis Hamilton have not been able to challenge for victories.

In last week's Mexican Grand Prix, Leclerc was able to come away with a second-place finish, but lost out to McLaren's Lando Norris by over 30 seconds. After the end of the race, he talked about his outing and added:

"I hated every meter of that first corner. I mean, obviously, there was the start, which wasn't a great one, strangely, that kind of helped me because I think Lando would have come back to the right if I had a good start, so luckily I could have a slipstream." "But then, yeah, after that I was just a passenger trying to defend my place!" (Via: F1).

In the 2025 Formula 1 season, Charles Leclerc is currently in fifth place in the drivers' standings.

Edited by Rishabh Negi