Mexican Star Sergio Perez Opens Up on How He Fought Through Adversity to Follow His Lifelong Dream

Sergio Perez’s story is an inspiration to young kids who want to make it to the pinnacle of motorsports. He recently recalled an incident from his childhood that almost made him give up on his dream to be a Formula 1 driver.

Sergio Perez, or as his admirers like to call him, ‘Checo’ did not grow up in a rich household. And a sport like motor sporting requires a steady inflow of cash to keep one afloat. For that he needed a sponsor to back him. Recognizing his talent at a young age, he landed the best sponsor he could in Carlos Slim. But he still needed someone from Europe to take care of his finances.

The incident that made Sergio Perez contemplate leaving motorsport

Checo at a very young age realized staying in Mexico will not do his dream of making it into Formula 1 any favor. He knew he would have to move to Europe and compete among the best. That was when he started contacting teams in Europe who could take him under their wing. Back then, international calls used to cost a fortune, and the phone bill made his mother angry.

In The Players’ Tribune, Checo recalled the time when his mother arrived to pick him up from school on time, something she didn’t often do. He expected her to ask him how his day went but he couldn’t be more wrong. “She’s like, “WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN DOING WITH THE PHONE?” I’m like, “Well, actually, I’ve been calling racing teams in Europe.…” She’s like, “ARE YOU CRAZY? DO YOU KNOW HOW EXPENSIVE IT IS???”

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Young Sergio thought she was exaggerating but was shocked when he saw the phone bill was ten times the normal. Things didn’t go well when he told his mother about his dream as she blocked all the European numbers on the phone. “Looking back, I guess I could have gone, Checo, this is crazy. Let’s do something else,” he recalled.

Perez attributes his criticism to his nationality

Perez silenced his critics after winning the Singapore GP under difficult wet circumstances. In a race where drivers were falling like flies around him, the Mexican showed his experience and composure to come out on top.

Answering his critics, post-race he said, “whenever you have a bad race or a little bit of a bad patch, as any other driver, sometimes with the Latin drivers you can hear a bit more criticism.”

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