“He Erased Sergio Perez’s Confidence”: Mika Hakkinen Believes Extraordinary Max Verstappen Brought ‘Rough Patch’ for His Own Teammate

The 2023 campaigns for both Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez were a stark contrast. For the Dutchman, it was a historic year as he wrapped his third consecutive title in an utterly dominant fashion. On the other hand, Perez lost faith in his own abilities and suffered a miserable season, according to former F1 champion Mika Hakkinen.

While discussing how Verstappen’s form negatively impacted Perez, the former McLaren driver said, “Max has simply been so fast that he erased Perez’s confidence. Perez couldn’t be anywhere near Max’s level.”

The lion and the friendly dog pic.twitter.com/3xwQYmNR0q

— Oracle Red Bull Racing (@redbullracing) December 17, 2023

The former Finnish driver believes that Verstappen’s dominance in 2023 was a culmination of many factors coming together. “Max’s performance is due to many different things. It’s not about waking up in the morning, going for a jog coming back rejuvenated, and saying, ‘I’m ready to win again.’ It takes a lot of different things.”

The entire Red Bull process has supposedly been built around Verstappen and not Perez. Moreover, even Verstappen has sensed Perez’s lack of confidence, and on many occasions, the Dutchman has seemed to exert his own agenda over an under-firing Mexican.

Max Verstappen destroyed Sergio Perez in 2023

On more than one occasion, Max Verstappen has openly defied helping his teammate out. Even the team doesn’t seem to be that bothered about it much since they have supposedly always favored Verstappen over Perez.

Former F1 driver Karun Chandhok even revealed a conversation he had with the 26-year-old’s father, Jos, who explained how his son was left fuming after he lost to Perez at the 2023 Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Following the race, Max vowed that Perez will never beat him again.

Max Verstappen’s race pace vs. Sergio Perez:

-0.232
+0.370
-0.258
+0.018
-0.152
-1.013
-0.488
-0.631
-0.528
-0.680
-0.506
-0.518
-0.865
-0.094
-0.670
-1.191
-0.300
-0.435
-0.255
-0.224

Max broke Checo in Miami. pic.twitter.com/NtNcpjZZoM

— Daniel Valente ️ (@F1GuyDan) December 20, 2023

Putting the 2023 season into numbers really exemplifies the gap between the teammates. Max Verstappen finished the season with a whopping 19 Grand Prix wins. Sergio Perez, on the other hand, secured only two. Furthermore, there was a mammoth 290-point difference between the two in the final championship standings.

While Perez did secure P2 in the standings, his Red Bull future is far from confirmed. There is a chance that the Milton Keynes outfit may replace the Mexican if he fails to deliver in 2024.