The entire focus is on Sergio Perez, amid his struggles with Red Bull throughout the 2023 season. His poor performances have heightened the battle for second place in the driver’s championship with Lewis Hamilton. To put even more pressure on the Mexican, Lewis Hamilton makes a bold prediction that the former will retain P2 in the standings, as reported by Latinus.
The circumstance suggests that Perez, like Verstappen drives the fastest car in F1, and should have secured P2 a long time ago. Failure to do so could pose a threat to the 33-year-old driver’s future at Red Bull, potentially leading to the termination of his contract before it expires.
Perez had a solid start to the season, but his performance declined drastically. He was once far ahead of Hamilton, but his downfall has given Hamilton the chance to catch the Red Bull driver. To keep his seat and prove his worth, Perez has to keep P2 in the world championship.
Lewis Hamilton believes Sergio Perez will bag P2
With Max Verstappen winning the title this year, the most sought position for drivers remains P2, which Lewis Hamilton believes Perez is going to keep. The Mercedes driver has certainly put pressure on Perez with his outstanding performance, closing the points deficit with the Mexican to 30, with five races to go.
Sergio Perez saw Lewis Hamilton out of the race and said “don’t worry king, I’ll make sure not to score any points” 🥺🙏🏽 pic.twitter.com/70OZOtX8LX
— deni (@fiagirly) October 8, 2023
Hamilton is within touching distance, but still backs Perez to get the job done. In his recent news conference, Hamilton said as per Latinus, ” Ultimately, it depends very much on Checo’s performance in the next few races, as he should easily be second in his car.”
Sergio Perez has been one of the key figures in Red Bull’s recent success. However, with his form deteriorating amid the season, he has been under intense scrutiny. This has led to a lot of assumptions concerning what is wrong with the Mexican and how some of his issues could lead to Lewis winning the P2.
How Sergio Perez’s woes could lead to Lewis Hamilton taking P2?
Sergio Perez has been dealing with a slew of issues both on and off the track which he addressed with De Limburger. In his interview with Sports Illustrated, the Mexican confessed that after the Miami GP, everything felt different. He said, ” After Miami, things started to get worse for me. I felt like I was driving another car that didn’t suit me so well.”
He said that he had a lot of trouble with the vehicle over the summer. Because of his lack of suitability, he had to drive the vehicle without confidence, resulting in a drop in form. Following that, the Mexican driver failed to qualify for Q3 in five consecutive races.
Perez’s performance hasn’t improved even after five months, as he has only collected 5 points in the last three races. Given his lack of confidence in the vehicle, Perez expressed his desire for him to continue with the car specs he had before Barcelona. However, his request was turned down by the Austrian team since Red Bull never considered the concept of having two car specs.
Despite the fact that Perez has a car in which he is not confident, he must have to achieve the required outcomes (P2) for the team. If he fails, the side will certainly consider replacing him with a different option.
