Sergio Perez out of Mexico City GP at Turn 1 after Charles Leclerc collision - ESPN

Sergio Perez's hopes of a return to form at his home race were ended by a collision with Charles Leclerc at Turn 1 in Mexico City.

Perez and Red Bull teammate Max Verstappen both had a lightning getaway at the start at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez and found themselves either side of Leclerc, who had been on pole position, coming to Turn 1.

With Verstappen on the inside, Leclerc had nowhere to go to avoid Perez as the Mexican driver turned right to make the corner.

The collision briefly sent Perez's car airborne before it was spun around, briefly coming to a stop in the run-off area.

Perez refused to blame Leclerc, saying he went aggressive at the start as he saw a chance to take the lead.

«I took a risk to exit that corner first and go for the victory,» Perez told the media after retiring from the event.

«It hurts me a lot for the people. I gave it my all. I wanted to give them the victory».

Asked if he could have given Leclerc more space, he said: «Definitely yes. But I was not expecting Charles to brake that late, because I was already ahead of him and he was in the middle, so there's a lot less room for maneovuer. So once you're committed to the braking zone at those speeds, it's just too late.

»Obviously there is always, with these wide cars, three cars into Turn 1, it's not going to end up well. But if you decide to take a risk, I decided to take it, and I paid the price."

Perez was able to drag his damaged car back to the pits, but after Red Bull's mechanics had attempted to make repairs, he climbed out of the car to officially retire from the race.

The Mexican driver angrily thumped his steering wheel when he got back to the pit-lane.

Leclerc stayed second but had a damaged front wing endplate, although it