Perez makes EXCITING promise about upcoming races
Perez makes EXCITING promise about upcoming races
There’s no hiding that Sergio Perez hasn’t been as fast or consistent as Max Verstappen so far this season, but he's insisted that fans are yet to see him at his best.
Perez is 145 points adrift of Verstappen in the championship standings with seven races still to go in 2023.
Two victories in the first four events of the year saw him emerging as a true challenger to his teammate, but a woeful weekend in Monaco stopped any positive momentum in its tracks. What followed was an onslaught of poor qualifying results that left Verstappen without a challenger at the front of the field.
In light of Daniel Ricciardo’s promotion to AlphaTauri for the Hungarian Grand Prix, and even rookie Liam Lawson’s performances as a stand-in for the injured Honey Badger, many have been led to believe that Perez’s seat with Red Bull Racing is under threat.
READ MORE: Horner makes ‘INSANE’ Red Bull admission after Monza glory
However, after finishing second for the fourth time this season at Monza, the Mexican said his best is still yet to come after making gains behind the wheel of his RB-19.
"I have progressed, I feel more comfortable in the car and I feel that we will see my best form for the next races.”
Perez is known to be particularly potent at street circuits, and with a visit to the recently reworked Marina Bay Street Circuit for the Singapore Grand Prix next on the F1 calendar, he could be the one to break his teammate’s record-breaking victory streak.
Leaving Monza upbeat despite mistakes
At Monza, another practice crash put Perez on the back foot in the early stages of the weekend. After a difficult Friday, Saturday didn’t start much better as a leak on his power unit prevented him from completing a qualifying simulation in practice three.
Come to qualifying, he was only fast enough to set a 1:20.688 – a lap time nearly four-tenths slower than his teammate – to take the fifth spot on the grid for the race.
By the time Perez had passed George Russell, Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz – all of whom defended valiantly against him – Verstappen was leading by nearly 13 seconds, but the Mexican driver was still upbeat about second place.
He said: "I tried to put pressure on Leclerc first, it was a lot of fight, a great battle, and a great result.”
READ MORE: Perez admits STRESS amid Verstappen pressure
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F1 Standings
Drivers
- Charles Leclerc
- Carlos Sainz
- Lando Norris
- Oscar Piastri
- Pierre Gasly
- Esteban Ocon
- Sergio Pérez
- Max Verstappen
- Alexander Albon
- Logan Sargeant
- Lewis Hamilton
- George Russell
- Nico Hülkenberg
- Kevin Magnussen
- Fernando Alonso
- Lance Stroll
- Valtteri Bottas
- Zhou Guanyu
- Nyck De Vries
- Liam Lawson
- Daniel Ricciardo
- Yuki Tsunoda
Races
- Gulf Air Grand Prix of Bahrain 2023
- Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2023
- Grand Prix of Australia 2023
- Grand Prix of China 2023
- Grand Prix of Azerbaijan 2023
- Miami Grand Prix 2023
- Qatar Airways Gran Premio Del Made In Italy E Dell'emilia Romagna 2023
- Grand Prix of Monaco 2023
- AWS Gran Premio de España 2023
- Grand Prix du Canada 2023
- Grand Prix of Austria 2023
- Aramco Grand Prix of Great Britain 2023
- Grand Prix of Hungary 2023
- Grand Prix of Belgium 2023
- Heineken Dutch Grand Prix 2023
- Grand Prix of Italy 2023
- Grand Prix of Singapore 2023
- Grand Prix of Japan 2023
- Qatar Grand Prix 2023
- Grand Prix of the United States 2023
- Gran Premio de la Ciudad de Mexico 2023
- Rolex Grande Prêmio de São Paulo 2023
- Heineken Silver Las Vegas Grand Prix 2023
- Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi 2023
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