Sergio Perez was talking about his hopes of challenging teammate Max Verstappen for the 2023 world championship heading into the Australian GP weekend. However, if he keeps performing like he did on Saturday in Melbourne, those title hopes will quickly fade away.
Perez was all over the place in Albert Park on Saturday. During Friday’s practice sessions, Verstappen was the quicker of the two Red Bull drivers but no one guessed just how much he would struggle the next day.
FP3 for Perez started off on a bad note, after suspension issues forced him to start his session late. The mechanics did their best to get his car repaired on time, and he was on his first flying lap when Haas driver Nico Hulkenberg blocked his run in the last few corners. After that set-back, we saw Perez make multiple mistakes and go off the track on several occasions.
What happened to Sergio Perez today?
During FP3, Perez took to the team radio to let his race engineer know that there was something wrong with the car. He complained about braking problems heading into turn one, and was unhappy with the overall balance.
Perez locked up multiple times and made several mistakes, often spinning off the track. The Mexican driver would have hoped that his FP3 issues was as bad as his weekend could get, but qualifying turned out to be an even bigger disappointment.
Perez’s qualifying was a disaster, with the Guadalajara-born driver locking up and getting stuck on the gravel trap. He was unable to reverse his car and get it back on track, which brought about a red flag to temporarily halt the session. This brought Perez’s day to a close in Melbourne and the 33-year-old will start the 2023 Australian GP from P20.
