Why three is the magic number for Perez

Sergio Perez has set his sights on third in the F1 drivers' championship after a trio of consecutive third-place finishes.

After enduring a tough start to life at Red Bull, Perez appears to have found his feet at precisely the right moment to aid the team in its quest to usurp Mercedes as constructors' champions.

Leaving Russia, Red Bull trailed the Silver Arrows by 33 points but after three consecutive double-podium results, that cushion is now just one point going into this weekend's São Paulo Grand Prix.

Through his recent performances, Perez has closed his personal gap to Bottas to 20 points, with the Mexican keen to beat the second Mercedes driver by the end of the year.

"It's a bit of [a] points [gap]," conceded Perez. "There are not many races left but it can swing around from weekend to weekend.

"I think if we keep doing the job, everything is possible."

Asked if third was his minimum expectation at each race now, Perez added: "Yeah, definitely. We are in such a tight fight with Mercedes.

"We know that every point from now on will make such a big difference so we have to keep pushing and try to be as perfect as possible every single weekend."

Advantage Red Bull?

The pace advantage has swung like a pendulum from Red Bull to Mercedes several times this year, including during the Mexico City GP weekend in which Red Bull dominated the early stages before being toppled in qualifying.

Max Verstappen regained the upper hand in the race itself, but Perez was cautiously optimistic of Red Bull's chances ahead of Sunday's race at Interlagos, although the sprint race returns on Saturday ahead of the main event.

"It is so close," said Perez. "We saw it already in Mexico. They were stronger than us in qualifying, I think we were stronger in the race because Max took the lead.

"If they would have stayed in the lead then things would have looked very different so it is going to be very close and we will see who has the upper hand.

"With the sprint race in the middle...we will see."

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