2 wins in 4 races and everyone thought Sergio Perez could have a stellar 2023 campaign. However, it was a false dawn as the Mexican has suffered poor results and miserable form since then. Amid all those crashes and Q3 misses, it wasn’t until the Qatar GP, that Perez realized he “cannot be this bad”.
Speaking to Motorsport.com, Perez stated, “Because Qatar was the worst weekend I remember in a while, probably my worst weekend ever in the sport.”
“It was such a bad weekend that I really felt like: ‘I cannot be this bad, there’s something that’s going on'”.
The former Force India driver expressed regret that the brainstorming around his struggles started in the way it did. Yet he admitted that it was essential to have those conversations about his poor performances.
Ocon Hulkenberg Perez
Sparks flew as three drivers dramatically clashed in #F1Sprint #F1 #QatarGP pic.twitter.com/IBwZep45l6
— Formula 1 (@F1) October 9, 2023
The Mexican race driver highlighted that it made the team understand the issues and get on top of them. Since then, Perez improved his performance to some extent. After Qatar, he got 2 podiums at COTA and Las Vegas, and two almost podiums in Abu Dhabi and Brazil, only denied by a 5-second penalty and Fernando Alonso’s brilliance.
Perez has been under pressure from Daniel Ricciardo or someone else to replace him, owing to his poor form. Despite these speculations, Red Bull has backed the #11 driver by reiterating that he has a set contract until 2024.
How is Sergio Perez looking to bounce back, amid exit speculations?
While Red Bull has clarified that they don’t intend to drop Sergio Perez, the Mexican also stated that he is “not the type of guy” who would quit his career just like that. Amid all speculations, Checo believes he can still bounce back and not hang up his helmet yet.
Perez denied thinking about stepping down or retiring, amid all the pressure at Red Bull. He said, “No, obviously, that would have been the easiest route because it was very tough at times.” However, he takes responsibility for his struggles and is looking to overcome them.
Checo knows how he claimed to fight for the championship in 2023 and from there on, it all went downhill. Still, amid those difficult times, he thought about focusing on his job and most importantly enjoying rather than giving up. Perez also mentioned the mental strength a driver needs, to be at Red Bull.
“If you want to be at Red Bull, I’m aware of how strong mentally you have to be to be here. It’s something that I got stronger at. You learn so much from the bad days, much more than from the good days.”
Whether the Mexican driver can channel this mental strength in 2024, time will tell. In the last year of his Red Bull contract, Perez needs to pull up his socks, or else, that could be the end of the rope from Christian Horner and Co.!
