Sergio Perez’s Biggest Source of Support Dwindles In “His Worst Year”

The support Sergio Perez receives in his home race – the Mexican GP – is top-notch. He is loudly cheered by the home crowd, and is a national icon in Mexico. But as per recent reports, the 34-year-old is falling out of favor with the Mexican newspapers, owing to his subpar performances.

The last month in F1 has been disastrous for Perez. After a P8 finish in Imola, he had a DNF in both Monaco and Canada; crashing out in the latter. As a result, Mexican newspaper La Jornada put out a report that read (as quoted by F1 Maximaal):

“Despite the weather conditions, [Max] Verstappen achieved his sixth victory of the season. His teammate couldn’t even finish the race. He had one of his worst weekends of the season and retired due to a mistake on lap 53. Checo did not manage to advance to Q2 on Saturday and ended up in sixteenth starting position“.

Sergio Perez crashed in the first lap of the F1 Monaco Grand Prix, but was able to walk away okay. pic.twitter.com/DWMLpr3HXl

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) May 26, 2024

El Universal too, had a similar tone for their report on Perez’s performance in Canada. They wrote, “Pérez’s terrible Formula 1 weekend in Canada ended with a DNF, a damaged car, and zero points“.

However, it was Esto publication that perhaps was the most critical of Perez’s performances. They believe that the former Racing Point driver is having his worst campaign since he started driving for Red Bull in 2021.

Sergio Perez slammed for his failure to deliver

In their piece, Esto pointed out how it was only recently that Perez signed a new two-year contract with Red Bull. And just a few days later, he suffered “his second consecutive retirement.” 

“We will get our form back”

Despite another tricky weekend in Canada, Checo is confident of bouncing back in future races #F1 #CanadianGP https://t.co/jPOBrBiztV

— Formula 1 (@F1) June 11, 2024

The publication also feels that Perez’s relationship with the Austrian team will take a hit if he continues down this path. They recall how in 2021, Perez suffered no retirements throughout the campaign. However, this season he has already suffered two DNFs after the first nine races.

Since Perez continues to struggle, he cannot rest easy despite his future being sorted on paper. Red Bull wants to win the Constructors’ Title. And if the Mexican driver doesn’t compete for the podium places, their charge will be affected severely, especially because the Milton-Keynes-based team’s rivals are now much closer.