Sergio Perez has been tasked with probably the most difficult job in F1 – performing at the level of Max Verstappen. The Dutchman has comprehensively outperformed Perez throughout the year. This made Red Bull boss Christian Horner comment that Perez makes his own life difficult by trying to match Verstappen, who is a generational talent.
Four races into the season, Perez was closer than ever to Verstappen with both of them having two wins to their name. However, since then, it has been the Verstappen show all along with the 25-year-old winning five races in a row.
Sergio Perez has failed to get into Q3 for the fourth race in a row in that Red Bull 👀📉 pic.twitter.com/ib7DxOLCBe
— ESPN F1 (@ESPNF1) June 30, 2023
With Verstappen snatching away pole positions with ease, Perez has had disastrous qualifying sessions in the last four races. He failed to get into Q3 in each one of them. The Mexican currently stands second in the driver’s standings a massive 81 points behind his teammate, who is the runaway leader.
Christian Horner cannot get over Perez’s frustrating Friday in Austria
Heading into the Austrian GP, Perez needed a massive performance to strengthen his position in the team. However, things started off really badly for him as he got eliminated from Q2 after all his lap times got deleted due to him leaving track limits.
Saturday went better for Perez as he finished second in the Sprint race after a close battle with Verstappen during the opening lap. This paved the way for his brilliant recovery drive on Sunday as he fought his way through the field from P15 to finish on the podium.
Great to be back on the podium. What a great work by the whole team @redbullracing
Was a tough race from the back, specially because I wasn’t 100%, but we managed to get the most out of it.
Now on to Silverstone!Genial estar de vuelta en el podio. Que gran trabajo de todo el… pic.twitter.com/U6Lw07kiNn
— Sergio Pérez (@SChecoPerez) July 2, 2023
Talking about the race on Sunday, Christian Horner explained as reported by Pit Debrief that even though Perez had a brilliant race pace on Sunday, he made things difficult for himself by starting from P15. “He did a good job yesterday and a good job today. It was just Friday that was frustrating,” said Horner.
Horner then explained that he believes Perez makes it hard for himself by trying to go over the limit. The team boss said, “I think sometimes he just puts a little bit too much pressure on himself.“
A disappointing 2023 season for Sergio Perez
Sergio Perez has never really been a match for Verstappen in the Red Bull. Last season, Verstappen managed to win 15 races compared to Perez’s two Grand Prix victories. This year, the gap between them looks to be even bigger.
However, the major difference is that in 2021 and 2022, Perez could at least match up to the pace of the other cars around him and make good use of his machinery. Things have not been so easy for him this campaign.
2023 has been quite a difficult season for Perez. And the fact that with every bad performance, the pressure on him increases, is not really helping the Mexican. There have been lots of rumors about Perez being replaced if his performances do not change. And with the presence of Daniel Ricciardo as a reserve driver, things will not be easy for Perez.
