Sergio Perez Pinpoints What Led Him to Lose Championship Race Against Max Verstappen

Sabyasachi Biswas | 07/10/2023
Sergio Perez Pinpoints What Led Him to Lose Championship Race Against Max Verstappen

Max Verstappen has been absolutely supreme this season. With 13 wins in 16 races already, the Red Bull driver wreaked havoc. However, compared to him, Sergio Perez failed to match his teammate massively and now he revealed the point from where he began to lose the momentum, as per Motorsport.com.

The Mexican driver showed massive underperformance in 2023. Despite starting the year on level terms with the Dutchman, he began to fall behind and there was no comeback from there. This led him to receive huge criticism from experts and fans alike.

Even though Perez showed signs of improvement in between races, it was not enough to prove him as the second-best driver alongside his teammate. That too after having the dominant RB-19 underneath him. Hence, there were rumors of him getting replaced by Red Bull.

Perez revealed the beginning of his end along with Verstappen’s appraisal

As Verstappen reigned supreme this season, this was well acknowledged by Perez, with whom he has been since 2021. Praising the Dutchman, the former Racing Point driver said the 26-year-old has done a great job over this year.

Along with this, he also shared the low point that saw him fall behind gradually. Talking about this, Perez said as per Motorsport.com, “The Spanish GP was the turning point of my season.”

With this, he further added, “From that moment on, my weekends became more difficult. I then started to catch up and since Barcelona, I have been struggling more with the car.” Admittedly, Perez finished the race in P11 at Circuit de Catalunya.

What’s next for Perez after a massive disappointment?

Max Verstappen is just three points away from winning his third F1 title. As things stand, the Dutchman can claim his championship on Saturday. Whereas, Perez stands in a distant P2 in the driver’s standings.

This was visible even in the recently concluded Qatar Grand Prix qualification where Verstappen took the pole and Perez finished in P13. Notably, Helmut Marko, the Red Bull taskmaster has been thoroughly critical of the Mexican.

As things stand, Daniel Ricciardo is regarded as a big-time replacement for Sergio Perez if things don’t go right with him at Red Bull. However, Christian Horner has full support for his driver despite a low 2023 F1 season.

Post Edited By: Samriddhi Jaiswal
Christian Horner Daniel Ricciardo Helmut Marko Max Verstappen Sergio Perez

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Sabyasachi Biswas

Sabyasachi Biswas is an F1 journalist at The SportsRush. With over one and a half decades of love for the sport and five years of experience in the field, he dreams to be a regular at the paddock when the lights go out. A Red Bull fan and F1 fan in general over the years, he enjoyed watching Felipe Massa, Sebastian Vettel, and Max Verstappen dominate the track. Apart from F1, he's also a big-time Madridista and Federer fanatic. He was a sub-junior level footballer, won inter-district quizzes and debate competitions back in school. A travel freak throughout, he tries different cuisines and learns new cultures whenever he's away from the keyboard.

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