Lewis Hamilton is in a mega hunt to overtake Sergio Perez for P2 in the Drivers’ Championship. Perez, whose lead over Hamilton has been slipping recently, will need to pull up his socks as Chris Medland revealed some interesting details recently. According to Medland, Hamilton is most likely to overtake Perez by just one point if he continues to diminish the lead at this rate.
Medland wrote on X, “Been doing a little bit of maths for a feature, and over the past five race weekends Lewis Hamilton has outscored Sergio Perez by an average of seven points per weekend. Maintain that rate over the final three and he’d pip Checo to second place by one point.”
Lewis was happy with that result! 😃
His sixth podium finish of the season (and his third P2) saw him close the gap to Perez in the driver standings 💪 #F1 #MexicoGP pic.twitter.com/BQG7qvqLyO
— Formula 1 (@F1) October 30, 2023
After a mighty start to the 2023 season with two wins in the first four races, Perez’s performances have dipped massively from there on. Even in the most recent race in Mexico, Perez crashed out of the race after colliding with Charles Leclerc.
In stark contrast, Hamilton finished the race in second and reduced Perez’s lead in the championship significantly. Moreover, with Mercedes’ performance improving in recent races, Hamilton can hope for another strong result in the upcoming Sao Paulo GP.
Will Lewis Hamilton beat Sergio Perez to second?
Lewis Hamilton has been mighty with his improved W14 in the last few races. The improvement of the W14 is noticeable as the Briton also came agonizingly close to defeating Max Verstappen at the United States Grand Prix a few weeks ago. Now, since the Sao Paulo GP is set to feature a sprint race weekend, there will be more points up for grabs for the drivers.
What a performance that was! 👏 pic.twitter.com/ePxjXjdeWd
— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) October 29, 2023
Hamilton now has 220 points after the 19th round of this season. He trails Perez by 20 points and has three races to overtake him for P2. However, Red Bull boss Christian Horner has recently revealed that the Mexican driver need not finish second in the championship to ensure his seat next year.
Horner said that the 33-year-old has a contract to stay in the team in 2024 and even if he loses the position to Hamilton, it will not be an issue. However, with Daniel Ricciardo impressing greatly, the pressure is on Perez to deliver. Another reason why there is added pressure on the Mexican driver is because there are rumors of Fernando Alonso having links with Red Bull.
