The 2023 season saw Sergio Perez rise to and fall from grace, having started the season as a prime contender to win the year’s drivers’ championship. Addressing the performance of the Mexican in his year-end review, Dutch presenter Olav Mol lashed out at Perez for his performances while also praising him for his achievements, as reported by F1 Maximaal.
Perez’s most important contribution to his team came when he secured P2 in the drivers’ standings. By doing so, not only did the Mexican save his Red Bull seat for one more year, but he also gave his team their first-ever 1-2 finish. Perez engaged in fierce competition with Max Verstappen throughout the season, especially after the Miami Grand Prix.
Heading into the race, both drivers had won two races each, and Perez led Verstappen for P1. However, a late surge from the Dutchman saw him outlast Perez’s challenge, crumbling his hopes of a third win. Ever since, Perez was only a shell of his early self, consistently struggling in qualifying sessions, failing to reach Q2 and Q1, and not beating Verstappen again throughout the season.
Addressing the same, Olav Mol lashed out at Perez by saying, “What a sucker” Perez was. He recalled the Mexico City GP incident, which saw the home driver crash out of the race in the first corner. Mov claimed Perez’s statement of being proud of himself for going for a win was “stupid.”
However, Mol soon started praising Perez for his achievements in 2023, as the Mexican driver stood as the second-best driver. Perez was second in line for race wins, number of laps driven in the lead, and the number of podiums in the season, and Mol thinks it was good for Perez to be second in all the stats.
Christian Horner points out where Sergio Perez lost all his confidence
The 2023 season was off to a flying start for Perez, who won two of the first four races of the season and was almost equal on points with his Red Bull teammate. However, an incident in the fifth rave of the season crumbled all his confidence and led to the Guadalajara-born driver battling a mental battle for the rest of the season. Perez started the race from pole, while Verstappen began in P9. The Dutchman made steady progress throughout the race, while Perez could not build a gap at the front. Eventually, Verstappen’s tire strategy saw him overtake Perez and bag the race win.
Addressing the same, Horner recently claimed losing the race in such a fashion became a psychological blow for Perez. The 33-year-old lost all his momentum and started struggling in almost every subsequent race. Not only did Perez fail to register another race win, but he also finished a staggering 290 points behind his teammate in the drivers’ standings. Despite the same, Perez did enough to ensure his team would make the clean sweep in a historic season. Not only did Red Bull win the constructors’ championship, but they also secured the top two spots in the drivers’ standings.
