Red Bull’s Sergio Perez has had a challenging season, currently sitting eighth in the Drivers' Championship, while teammate Max Verstappen leads in the same car.

Despite being the only Mexican to reach the podium at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, Perez hoped for a breakthrough win at his home Grand Prix.

However, his weekend was off to a rough start with a Q1 exit in qualifying, forcing him to start near the end of the grid. During the race, things worsened when he clashed with Liam Lawson, the young Red Bull driver competing for his seat.

On lap 19, Perez overtook Lawson at Turn 4, but Lawson held his ground, leading to contact that damaged Perez’s car floor and sidepod, leading to reduced downforce. Later, Lawson overtook Perez again, adding insult with a middle finger.

Frustrated, Perez criticized Lawson’s aggressive approach as the incident destroyed Perez’s hopes of a strong finish at his home race.

"I had the manoeuvre into Turn 4 and then he was outside the track and just came straight like if there was no car," said Perez quoted by Motorsport.com.

"I think he could have avoided the incident but he just went back. Luckily I saw him and I opened the room otherwise it would have been a massive crash. There was no need. We damaged both of our races. It was a little bit too much.

"He's not getting any penalties as well. He did the same with Fernando, with Franco [Colapinto] in the end. There are no penalties, so none of this is his fault as well."

He also brought up last week's clash between Lawson and Fernando Alonso in Austin, sparked by an incident in the sprint race.

"When a two-time world champion was saying things last weekend, he completely ignored him. It's like when you come to Formula 1, you're obviously very hungry and so on, but you have to be respectful as well, off track and on track,” Perez addressed.

"I don't think he's showing the right attitude. I think he's a great driver and I hope for him that he can step back and learn from it.

"In his first two grands prix he has had many incidents. I think there will be a point where it can cost him too much, like it did this weekend.

"I just think that he has to have the right attitude to say: 'Look, probably I'm overdoing it a little bit, I will step back and start again'. Because if you don't learn from your mistakes, Formula 1 is a brutal world and he might not continue."

When questioned if Lawson was racing him harder because of the Red Bull seat at stake, Perez remarked that the New Zealander nearly collided with multiple drivers in just only 2 races, implying he's racing a bit recklessly with everyone.