In one of the most intense battles of the season, Sergio Perez emerged as the loser by a matter of 53-thousandths of a second against Fernando Alonso. Following the race, Perez’s biggest critic, Helmut Marko, was once again at the forefront to point out the mistakes made by the Mexican that cost him a podium finish.
Cette POV du finish entre Fernando Alonso et Sergio Pérez depuis le pitwall 🥵🤩#F1 #BrazilGP 🇧🇷pic.twitter.com/uc6x6BB6dq
— Off Track (@OffTrack_FR) November 6, 2023
Caught in a battle for P3, the final couple of laps in the 71-lap race saw Perez and Alonso exchange the lead twice before the Spaniard stood his ground to take home the Bronze medal. In what was a wheel-to-wheel battle out of every turn, Marko spoke to Sky Deutschland (quoted in a report by PlanetF1), the Red Bull chief advisor revealed what led to Perez’s loss.
“The mistake was that he didn’t come out of Turn 3 properly, then he just made a small move on the start-finish straight on the way to Turn 1.”
Despite the minor mistakes, Perez has massively improved his form in the last few races. Marko has also taken note of the same and praised the Mexican for his much-needed return to form. Adding to his statement, the 80-year-old claimed Perez’s pace in Qualifying, as well as the Race sessions, had drastically improved since Austin and that he has now built enough of a lead to secure P2.
Sergio Perez seems to have done enough to fend off the Lewis Hamilton challenge
Following a captivating battle, Perez was humble in defeat. Speaking to the media after the race, the 33-year-old claimed he and Alonso shared a “fair and to the limit fight.” He added other drivers should learn from what they did and how they fought, as that was the way things should be done. Meanwhile, Fernando Alonso was over the moon with his performance but not arrogant in victory as he asked Perez to take it easy on him on account of Alonso not being twenty years old anymore.
DRIVER STANDINGS (after Sao Paulo Grand Prix)
Alonso moves up to fourth, Norris to fifth 👀#F1 #BrazilGP pic.twitter.com/iZPfPjQMgc
— Formula 1 (@F1) November 5, 2023
While Perez could not oust Alonso from the podium spot, he still did enough to ensure there was no challenge from Lewis Hamilton. Locked in a battle for P2 in the driver’s standings, the P4 finish was a crucial result for Perez.
Having achieved the result, Perez increased his lead to what seemed to be an unassailable 32 points over Hamilton. As such, a Red Bull 1-2 in the standings is all but certain, much to the delight of the Milton Keynes-based outfit. However, the rumors of Perez having to step away from Red Bull at the end of the season are not over yet, and only time will tell what the future holds for the 33-year-old Mexican driver.
