Sergio Perez criticised over 'ridiculous' F1 belief

Former F1 team boss Peter Windsor has criticised Sergio Perez for believing that he could ever challenge Max Verstappen.

Perez's time as Verstappen's team-mate coincided with a period of team success, winning two constructors' championships in 2022 and 2023 as the Dutchman roared to four straight drivers' titles.

The Mexican driver started the second of those constructors' championship seasons with a bang, splitting the first four races with his team-mate (plus a sprint win in Baku) to sit just six points off the championship lead.

However, former Williams boss Windsor has called Perez 'ridiculous' for appearing to believe that he could have challenged Verstappen for the title that year, accusing him of getting caught up in his own media hype.

Windsor: Perez believed media hype

Speaking ahead of Perez's return to the grid with Cadillac, Windsor said: "All the Mexican press got excited about how he could win the world championship and beat Max. And he believed it all! Of course the press are going to say that, that's what they do. But for Perez to believe it all...he's believing it all now, I guess.

"It's ridiculous! The way to hype himself up is to go and do 25 days with Rob Wilson in the rain at Snetterton."

Perez has spoken recently about his time at Red Bull, admitting: “Everything – practically everything – at Red Bull was a problem. If I was very fast, it was a problem because it created a very tense environment. If I was faster than Max, it was a problem. If I was slower than Max, it was a problem."

He added: “I was on the best team, a complicated team, because being Max’s teammate at Red Bull is very difficult, but being Max’s teammate at Red Bull is the worst job there is in F1, by far."

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