The problem that the Mexican Formula 1 driver has to overcome to overcome his leading teammate of the season
Sergio “Checo” Pérez, a Red Bull Mexican motorsport icon and highly respected driver in Formula 1, has experienced a series of setbacks since taking pole position at the exciting Grand Prix of Miami in May. In a career that promised a lot for Pérez, he ended up seeing how max verstappen, who started in ninth position, took the laurels. Since that setback, fortunes seem to have turned away from Pérez. In three consecutive races, the Mexican driver has failed to clear the Q3 hurdle, a fact that has raised some eyebrows in the paddock and raised questions about his ability to compete at the highest level.
But the difficulties of perez not limited to classification. In the race, where the true quality of a driver is put to the test, Pérez has scored fewer points than six other drivers in the tests in Monaco, Spain and Canada. His points tally is less than a third of his teammate Verstappen’s, highlighting the existing performance gap at Red Bull.
Verstappen’s confidence a critical factor
Checo’s situation does not only affect the pilot himself. His run of poor results seems to have inflated Verstappen’s confidence. As Jenson Button, the 2009 Formula 1 champion, said in an interview with Motorsport.com: “When Max sees his team-mate go through a tough weekend, it just helps build his confidence. ”.
This boost in Verstappen’s confidence, Fueled by his teammate’s difficulties, he appears to have driven away internal competition at Red Bull. “After three weekends, there is no way to catch Max anymore, he is gone, and the championship is definitely his,” Button continued. In this way it is more than clear who will be the world champion in 2023.
Uncertainty about the future of Checo Pérez at Red Bull
While Pérez fights to return to form, A question arises: What will happen to Checo? Many hope for a recovery. After all, Perez is known for his speed and his tenacity on the track. “We all want him to challenge Max, we want to see good racing CzechButton insisted. Thus, so far we have not been able to observe an increase in its performance.
However, inconsistency has been a drag on Pérez. A driver of his caliber cannot afford such wide variability in his performances. In fact, after the recent Canadian Grand Prix, Button admitted that he “expected more” from Pérez. The Mexican had managed to move up from 12th to 6th place, but this was due more to a well-executed pit stop strategy than a series of spectacular overtaking moves.