In the realm of F1, a domain predominantly navigated by men, a new narrative is being etched by British racing driver, Jessica Hawkins. Her saga commenced with a historic test drive of the Aston Martin AMR21 at the Hungaroring in September 2023, marking her as the first woman in nearly half a decade to grace the cockpit of a Formula 1 car. This was no mere dalliance, as her appointment as the Driver Ambassador for the Aston Martin Cognizant F1 Team in May 2021 had already positioned her closer to the F1 echelon, igniting hopes of more driving opportunities for women in the circuit.

Hawkins is no novice to the racing arena. With a background rich in competitive racing, including her exploits in the W Series and the British Touring Car Championship, she’s earned her stripes and the attention of the F1 community. Her experiences on and off the track have not only honed her skills but have lent her a keen understanding of the mental and emotional toll racing can take on drivers. Apparently, Hawkins’ understanding may help our Sergio Perez big time to fight his mental space demons.

This seasoned understanding came to the fore recently on the F1 Nation Podcast, where Jessica empathetically weighed in on Sergio Perez’s ongoing struggle this season. Once matching pace with teammate Max Verstappen, Perez has found himself ensnared in a ‘negative spiral’ of results as the season unfolded. The mental game, Jessica opined, could be as challenging as the physical, if not more. Drawing from her own journey, she extolled the virtues of sports psychology, which she credited with transforming her approach to racing, especially during tough times.

She said, “And it seems to be getting worse and worse as the season goes on. If we look back to the start of the season, there were times when he was on a par with Max, and just from a few races in, it seems to have gone the wrong way for Checo, which is a real shame. And I guess once you get in that kind of mental state, it’s then very difficult to pull it back.”

When asked how do you shake yourself out of that? When you’re in that negative spiral, what can you do? Hawkins had some great advice, “Yeah, and I can speak wonders for sports psychologists, I really can. Me, personally, when I speak to a sports psychologist, it completely transforms me. I feel like, for me, I’m able to keep myself fit, although PTs are always helpful, I’m able to keep myself fit, I know what I need to do, whereas the mental game, for me, is where I really, really need help, and I can speak volumes for that.”

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But as the dust settles on the Qatar Grand Prix circuit, Red Bull’s Team Principal Christian Horner is slated for a tête-à-tête with Sergio Perez, following what’s been dubbed a ‘shocker of a race’ for the Mexican maestro.

Red Bull’s racing roundtable: Christian Horner, Sergio Perez to reconvene post-Qatar GP quagmire

The Red Bull Racing team is gearing up for a heart-to-heart with their speedster Sergio Perez, after a “shocker of a race” at the Qatar Grand Prix, as termed by team principal Christian Horner. Perez had quite the frustrating weekend, with just a single point added to his championship tally.

Horner told Sky Sports F1, “I think we really need to sit down with Checo because we know what he’s capable of and he’s not hitting that form at the moment. We desperately need him to find that form to keep this second place in the championship.”