Antonio Perez Garibay, the father of well-known Formula 1 driver Sergio Perez, recently experienced a severe health scare. Following his son’s crash with Carlos Sainz in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Antonio was discovered unconscious in his bathroom, suffering from a pre-infarction – a serious precursor to a heart attack.
The ordeal took place shortly after Perez was involved in a high-speed collision with Carlos Sainz in the latter stages of the race. Fortunately, the Perez family provided a positive health update, as reported by Mirror, announcing Antonio Perez Garibay’s discharge from the hospital. The statement read:
“After spending several days in hospital, Mr Antonio Perez Garibay has been discharged and is now at home, where he will continue his recovery process in the company of his loved ones.
“Through this statement, Mr Perez Garibay and Scuderia Perez would like to express their most sincere gratitude to friends, family and the media for the countless displays of affection, support and solidarity during this time.
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“Don Antonio will continue his recovery under medical instructions. We thank you again for your understanding and support, and we will be attentive to any relevant updates regarding his health status.”
Antonio himself speculated that the stress from his son’s crash might have been a contributing factor to his medical condition.
“Everything happened after the accident. The shock of the accident may have caused it. They are already checking my heart to see why I fainted.”
Reflecting on the crash which ruined his hopes of a podium finish, the Mexican driver commented, as quoted by Formula1.com:
“I felt that exiting Turn 2, there was plenty of room between both cars, and within a metre or two, we ended up making contact.
“It’s very unfortunate. It all happened so quickly. I think Carlos was trying to follow the tow from Charles as he went to the inside and that really made things really hard.”
He added:
“[The pace today is] a massive [positive]. I think we had the pace to fight for the victory today, so we just have to keep it up and hopefully in the coming races, coming weekends, we can be really strong.”
As well as squashing Perez’s chances of a much-needed podium finish, his crash also paved the way for McLaren to overtake Red Bull in the Constructors’ Standings.
2024 Constructors’ Championship: Current Standings
1. McLaren – 476 points
2. Red Bull – 456 points
3. Ferrari – 425 points
4. Mercedes – 309 points
5. Aston Martin – 82 points
6. VCARB – 34 points
7. Haas – 29 points
8. Williams – 16 points
9. Alpine – 13 points
10. Sauber – 0 points
