Perez: Leclerc 'got me back for Turkey 2020' with late overtake

Sergio Perez joked that Charles Leclerc 'got me back' following the Las Vegas Grand Prix with his final lap overtake.

The Mexican managed to achieve his goal set by the team of finishing second in the Drivers' Championship, sealing a historic one-two for Red Bull with his third place, but was passed by Leclerc three corners from home with a lunge at the end of the Strip.

Leclerc pulled nearly 7G in braking deceleration force in the move, with Perez falling from the lead to third over Max Verstappen passed the duo.

Perez felt the move was 'payback' over a late move in the low-grip/wet conditions of the 2020 Turkish Grand Prix, and that he did have a chance to win the race.

Perez: I couldn't pull away from Leclerc

Perez believes the second Safety Car put him in contention for the win, as it enabled him to pit from the lead and emerge behind Leclerc with Oscar Piastri and Pierre Gasly separating him from Verstappen.

Red Bull opted to put more downforce on his car set-up, which ultimately prevented Perez from being able to create a gap to Leclerc when he eventually overtook for the lead.

"Once the Safety Car came out, that really put us in contention for the victory," Perez told media including RacingNews365.

"In the initial laps I went past Charles relatively easy, but then I just couldn't pull away from him.

"Unfortunately, I think we were just carrying a little bit too much rear wing on my car, and my top speed was quite a bit down."

Leclerc made a mistake on Hard tyres which handed second back to Perez, but in a dramatic move up the inside at Turn 14 the Ferrari driver stole it back on the final lap.

Perez believed this was payback for a similar move he pulled on Leclerc and Sebastian Vettel at the end of the 2020 Turkish Grand Prix.

"It was really not nice to lose a place to Charles there in the end. He got me back from Turkey 2020. It is what it is," he said.