By MARK LORENZANA
Mexican Formula 1 (F1) driver Sergio “Checo” Pérez picked up his seventh podium finish this year as he finished second behind teammate and fellow Red Bull Racing driver Max Verstappen in another one-two finish for Red Bull on Sunday, Aug. 28, at the Belgian Grand Prix.
It was a particularly impressive win for Verstappen, who had the fastest lap at qualifying the day before, only to find himself starting at the back of the grid on race day, at 14th, after being penalized — along with drivers Valtteri Bottas, Esteban Ocon, Lando Norris, Zhou Guanyu, Mick Schumacher and Yuki Tsunoda.
Grid penalties were handed down by F1’s governing body to the aforementioned drivers — which meant they all had to start at the back of the grid, regardless of their performance during qualifying — after gear box and power unit changes.
Qualifying saw Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz Jr. take pole position ahead of Perez, who was second, but the Spanish driver ended up third — and with the last podium finish — at the end of the race, behind the Mexican.
Pérez’s second-place finish has earned him 22 total podium finishes for his career. Among these podium finishes, he has had three first-place finishes — namely, in the 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix, the 2021 Azerbaijan Grand Prix and the 2022 Monaco Grand Prix — nine second-place finishes and 10 third-place finishes.
Extra Marks
Records Broken in 2022 Mexico City Marathon
There were no Mexican runners who finished at the top three spots in the 2022 Mexico City Marathon on Sunday, Aug. 28, but records were broken — courtesy of two Africans. Kenyan Edwin Kiptoo won first place in the men’s division, with a time of 2 hours, 10 minutes and 33 seconds, breaking the previous record by five seconds and becoming the fastest finisher ever in the event. In the women’s division, Ethiopian Amane Beriso likewise broke the record set by her fellow African in 2021, Kenyan Lucy Cheruiyot, by finishing the race in 2 hours, 25 minutes and five seconds. Beriso’s finish was a full two minutes faster than Cheruiyot’s finish last year.
In the men’s category, Kiptoo was joined in the podium by Kenneth Limo and Rhonzas Lokitam, while in the women’s category, Beriso shared the podium with Cynthia Chepchirchir and Meliye Dekebo. First, second and third place finishers pocketed 550,000 pesos, 245,000 pesos and 180,000 pesos, respectively, in both the men’s and women’s categories.
Want to Catch a Lucha Libre Event? Head on to the AIFA!
The three most well-known coliseums for lucha libre in Mexico City are the following: Arena México (the most popular, and considered the current home of Mexican wrestling), the Arena Coliseo and the Arena Naucalpan. There’s a fourth venue, though — the Felipe Ángeles International Airport (AIFA)! The past week, social media was abuzz because, apparently, to celebrate the addition of newer routes in the AIFA, an airline installed a lucha libre ring in the corridors of the airport. What’s more, a marching band from the Secretariat of National Defense (Sedena) played Queen songs!
And with the addition of new bus routes to the AIFA — running to and from Acapulco, Cuernavaca, Puebla, Querétaro, Tampico, etc. (there are now more daily bus arrivals than flight arrivals!) — how easy is it to take a bus to the airport, grab a tlayuda and enjoy a lucha libre fight with Queen’s “We Are the Champions” playing in the background?