- Red Bull driver Sergio Perez is yet to understand why he is not matching his super performance
- Perez couldn’t conceal his disappointment after falling far behind in the Canadian Grand Prix
- He won the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in March
Red Bull driver Sergio Perez is yet to understand why he is not matching his superb performance on the grid as he did in the first races of the season.
Perez couldn’t conceal his disappointment after falling far behind in the Canadian Grand Prix.
Fernando Alonso of Aston Martin took his second pole position followed by Mercedes drivers Lewis Hamilton and George Russell.
Max Verstappen extended his lead once more as the Mexican driver fell off. Perez’s failure to qualify for the third straight race was largely due to Red Bull’s failure to take advantage of the brief dry tyre window in Q2.
He was expected to make a strong comeback in Canada since the RB19 is the fastest car on the grid so far.
Sergio Perez with Max Verstappen. Photo/Sky Sports
However, Perez’s title chances have been essentially dashed by these recent recovery efforts as teammate Verstappen dominates the grid.
Perez’s cause was further harmed by a P6 finish at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, all the while Verstappen made four straight victories.
Starting on the hard tyre rapidly backfired when Russell’s accident on lap 12 brought out the Safety Car and allowed for a series of inexpensive pit stops.
From that point on, Perez knew he was in for an even longer afternoon than what he had originally planned.
He described this race as a ‘long day’ different from what he thought.
“I think the Safety Car took all the opportunity away because it was looking good, we raced on that hard tyre and unfortunately it didn’t pay off,” Planet F1 reports.
Even so, it was troubling that Perez was unable to challenge the Ferraris in front of him. Carlos Sainz, who started just one position ahead of Perez, finished the race 30 seconds later after making a second pit stop to earn the bonus point for the fastest lap.
Perez acknowledges that this lack of momentum is very concerning, especially since he is unable to pinpoint the exact cause of the problem.
His poor performance is a cause of concern which he acknowledges and is taking time to review his past races and find out where he went wrong.
Sergio Perez. Photo Xavi Bonilla/DPPI Credit: DPPI Media/Alamy Live News
Perez in March, was confident that he had the support of his seniors at Red Bull to compete against fellow team driver Verstappen for the 2023 title championship.
His confidence stemmed from beating Verstappen in his first victory at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
“I really believe I have the team’s full support, as much as Max does, and that I will have every opportunity to win the championship, as much as Max,” reports BBC Sport.
Perez was Red Bull’s reserve driver whose cardinal role in the team was supporting Verstappen’s championship campaign.
However, he performed well at the start of the season. This seemingly created tension in his team’s camp. After winning the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, Perez took to Twitter where he expressed his desire to take on Verstappen, albeit indirectly.
The latter had finished second owing to a problem with his drivetrain. Perez said that he was challenged and encouraged to make history this season which made Verstappen rant to his engineering team over a faulty drive train.
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