Sergio Perez Has Revealed His Personal Highlight of the 2023 Season and It is Not His Two Wins

Sergio Perez has opened up on how he went from having an excellent season this year to having an extremely difficult campaign. The Mexican matched Red Bull teammate Max Verstappen after the first four races as they both won two races each. However, ever since, Perez has failed to register a win. Even though Perez struggled after the opening few races of the campaign, he yet believes that his highlight came from the latter part of the season.

In a recent interview with Motorsport Total (as quoted by Junaid), the 33-year-old said that his highlight of the campaign was the way he fought back from his slump. The driver from Guadalajara revealed that the turning point of his season came in Barcelona.

https://t.co/wBvTAwTWVT – Sergio Perez looking back at the season said: “It was a really difficult year. It started really well, we were fighting for the championship. But then in Barcelona we had such a dominant car, but I just couldn’t set it up properly.”

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Perez stated that since he found it difficult to set up his car on that occasion, he went into a negative spiral and lost his confidence. The same is reflected in the points difference the two drivers have in the championship.

Heading into the final race in Abu Dhabi, Verstappen has a whopping 276-point lead over Perez. Moreover, the Mexican has struggled so much this season that even his second place in the championship was under threat from Lewis Hamilton.

It was not until Perez finished third in Las Vegas last weekend that he sealed second in the championship. However, with Perez now having sealed three podiums in his last four races, he seems to be rediscovering his form.

Sergio Perez believes he has successfully addressed his troubles

While speaking in the same interview, Sergio Perez explained how he successfully addressed his troubles in the second half of the 2023 season by consistently fighting at the top. In his last four races, the Mexican has registered three top-four finishes.

Moreover, with him having clinched his first podium in Las Vegas in the past two months, he does seem to be gaining some of his confidence back. Furthermore, as Perez’s performances have improved, the rumors of Red Bull wanting to replace him have also reduced recently.

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner and advisor Helmut Marko have repeatedly showcased faith in Perez. Both have often stated at various points of the 2023 season that Perez has been meeting expectations despite the staggering gap he has with Max Verstappen.

However, if the Milton Keynes outfit still do decide to replace him, the likes of Daniel Ricciardo could be the favorite. When the Australian returned to the grid with AlphaTauri a few months ago, he made it clear that he wants to put himself back in contention for that second Red Bull seat alongside Verstappen.