Title contender or another team runner-up? Is Sergio Pérez the next Nico Rosberg or the next Rubens Barrichello or Valtteri Bottas? At the moment, it looks more like the second option, even if the Mexican racer beats his chest and chokes that he can beat Verstappen.
It is consistency of performance that separates excellent pilots from very good ones. Max Verstappen or Fernando Alonso have not yet hesitated this season, while Pérez has already hesitated at least twice. He chalked up the mistake in Australia to a problem with the car – the team has not confirmed this hypothesis – but he took full responsibility for the one in Monaco.
His crash into the barrier at the Sainte Devote corner extended team-mate Max Verstappen’s lead in the overall standings by 25 points. Pérez did not shine in the race either and revived the “Barrichello debate”. Checo is not giving up, however, and he boasted to journalists in Spain that he can still turn it around.
“I should have taken it a little more lightly,” he said Pérez. “It all came too late, and several things collided.”
“At the last minute we decided to go one more quick lap, then Alpine appeared in front of us and I had a strong back wind going into the first corner. So if we are next in Monaco in Q1, maybe it will help us not to make such last minute decisions. However, it does not change the fact that I should have done a better job and anticipated the situation better.”
“It’s difficult, but in a situation like this, the most important thing is to raise your hand, as a driver to admit the mistake and first of all apologize to the team, then learn from it,” he added Pérez.
He already announced in Monaco that he is definitely not throwing the flint in the rye and will try to beat Verstappen. Despite everything, he thinks he can beat the two-time world champion and erase the loss of 39 points.
“Yes, because I have the speed for it,” he declared Pérez. “If this accident had happened and I had been half a second slower then I would have been worried. But we have the speed to turn it around. I’ll go at it weekend after weekend. I want to win on Sunday and take the momentum back to my side.”
“I’ve been Max’s equal opponent since the beginning of the season, sometimes it’s better, sometimes worse. He is probably the most difficult teammate, but I believe it is possible to beat him.” he added Pérez.
2023-06-01 19:11:13
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