The 2023 season was very eventful for f1. Red Bull dominated the whole season. Max Verstappen himself bagged 19 wins in 22 races. The year has showcased Verstappen’s talent and Red Bull’s ability to make a machine to suit the driver and dominate the sport.
The year also had some controversial races. The second last race of the season was held in Vegas. The Vegas GP received a lot of hate from fans and locals of the city. The track layout caused inconvenience to the local stores and commuters. Vegas GP was also hit with a lawsuit for canceling the practice session.
🚨 | Christian Horner says team personnel left Vegas “f***ed” due to the intense schedule.
He calls for lessons to be learned for 2024:https://t.co/rZXDJL4T0b
— formularacers (@formularacers_) November 20, 2023
Among all of this controversy and inconvenience, there was a funny interaction between Red Bull driver Sergio Perez and MMA host Bruce Buffer.
Sergio Perez encounter with Bruce Buffer
Bruce Buffer also known as the “Veteran Voice of Octagon” is the official match officiator of The Ultimate Fighting Champion. He is quite popular in the MMA world. He was also part of the Vegas GP, Bruce Buffer was announcing the name of the racers for the after-race events. It was during the name announcement Buffer and Checo caught themselves in an awkward situation.
Sergio Perez had a challenging race during the Vegas race. He was also dethroned by Charles Leclerc during the final laps of the race. The Mexican driver finished as #3 next to Max Verstappen, and Charles Leclerc. After the race, the drivers were joining their team and others for the post-race activities. On seeing Sergio Perez, Bruce Buffer announced the arrival of Sergio.
Sergio was surprised by Buffer’s announcement and didn’t know what to do. He was not given any instructions by the team, and this made things awkward for both Sergio and Buffer.
🗣️ | 🇧🇭 Checo on the awkward moment with Bruce Buffer at the Las Vegas GP drivers’ parade
“I remember the moment, basically I wasn’t told what to do, I really just be there with all the drivers and I thought there would be a normal presentation and parade. And then all of a… pic.twitter.com/K1wQKk42rM
— RBR News 🇳🇱🇲🇽 (@redbulletin) February 28, 2024
The Mexican driver recently addressed the interaction. He said, “I remember the moment, basically I wasn’t told what to do, I really just be there with all the drivers and I thought there would be a normal presentation and parade. And then all of a sudden, someone was shouting my name and I see [Bruce Buffer], quite a funny moment.”
Perez added, “I remember his face pretty well [because he stood really close to me]. It was a cool moment, Bruce is such an icon but at the time I was just confused, I had no idea where to go and what to do.”
Listening to Perez it is clear that he was unaware of the whole situation and expected just a parade after the race. However, he is aware of who Bruce Buffer is and calls him an “icon” and appreciates the MMA host as well.