Sergio Perez makes EXCITING promise about upcoming races

perez, red bull racing — Photo: © LAT Images

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Perez makes EXCITING promise about upcoming races

Sergio Perez has high hopes for the rest of the reason

George Brabner

Tuesday 5 September 2023 18:57

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.

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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.

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

Sergio Perez leaves Monza believing his best is yet to come

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.”