Sergio Perez was seen running past former US president Donald Trump without greeting him ahead of the 2024 F1 Miami GP.
Trump was among the many celebrities who graced the race weekend in Miami. The former president of the US from 2017 to 2021 is once again running for the 2024 US presidential elections.
A week before the race, several reports emerged about his arrival at the Grand Prix, and that his schedule would be handled by the Secret Service themselves.
On Sunday, Donald Trump was seen passing through a tunnel with his massive entourage at the Hard Rock Stadium, around which the Miami track was purpose-built.
At the same time, Sergio Perez and his trainer, Jo Canales, hurriedly tried to pass through the tunnel in the opposite direction. The Red Bull driver was in a rush since he was running slightly late for the race preparation and formalities.
Though the security briefly stopped the pair, they let them through as soon as they saw Sergio Perez. Both Checo and his trainer jogged their way past Donald Trump without acknowledging the former president or stopping to have a chat. Neither Checo nor Trump flinched or saw each other when they passed.
You can view the video of the same below:
Sergio Perez explains first lap incident at the 2024 F1 Miami GP
Sergio Perez recently talked about his poor start to the 2024 F1 Miami GP. As quoted by Autosport, Checo explained that though he had a great start off his grid box, he tried to overtake Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc by taking the inside line.
He claimed that since the inside area of the track had no grip, his tires locked up and he lost control of the car. Perez addressed how he nearly collided with his Red Bull teammate Max Verstappen.
"I had a good start, Charles had a really bad start, but as soon as I brake into the inside, there was no grip, like with Lewis [Hamilton] yesterday [in the Sprint]. And offline, there was no grip, and I ended up locking. I nearly took off Max out. So I had to come off the brake and I lost a position to Oscar," Perez said.
Despite locking up badly at the start of the Miami GP, Sergio Perez managed to control the damage and finish in P4.