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Formula One F1 – Spanish Grand Prix – Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain – June 3, 2023. Red Bull’s Sergio Perez before practice. REUTERS/Nacho Doce
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via Reuters
Formula One F1 – Spanish Grand Prix – Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain – June 3, 2023. Red Bull’s Sergio Perez before practice. REUTERS/Nacho Doce
As we arrive in Canada for the 8th round of the 2023 championship, there’s a notable absence from the usual front-runners. Even in the formidable RB19, Sergio “Checo” Perez finds himself grappling with a series of ups and downs. Perez’s 2023 F1 season has indeed been a rollercoaster. He soared to victory in Saudi Arabia and Azerbaijan, but these triumphs were overshadowed by an unsettling inconsistency. He found himself off the pace in Australia, Monaco, and Spain, finishing 5th, 16th, and 4th respectively. These results are particularly baffling as damaging records come up, proving that Checo has not been able to tame the rocketship RB19 well.
Perez’s qualifying performances have indeed been a source of concern, with four early eliminations this season, two of which occurred in the Q2 sessions in Spain and Canada. The Canadian GP qualifying, however, stands out as a particularly perplexing event. While in other cases, it was Perez’s driver error, the Mexican ace found himself caught in a strategic quagmire, as he ended up on the wrong tires at an inopportune time. This decision, unfortunately, a miscalculation on the team’s part, saw him lagging behind in 12th place.
Perez has missed three Q3s in a row now in the most dominant F1 car in recent history.
— Nate Saunders (@natesaundersF1) June 17, 2023
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“[It was] very frustrating,” said the Mexican. “A bad day for myself. I let my team down and I am very sorry, but now I need to focus on tomorrow and try to minimise the damage.”
Perez had been one of the first drivers to switch to the intermediate compound as the track condition improved. However, on the run to turn three, the Red Bull driver’s wheels failed to grip, and he understeered onto the grass before coming to an abrupt stop in the barriers.
Let’s explore the sentiments of fans who are as disappointed as they come about RBR’s Mexican Pilot.
Fans react as Sergio Perez gets dooming qualifying result despite Red Bull’s cars being the most dominant
The F1 fandom is in disbelief as Sergio Perez struggles to harness the power of the dominant Red Bull car. A grim qualifying result has sparked fervent reactions. Fans are left questioning how Perez, with the might of Red Bull behind him, is falling short of the mark so consistently. With Alex Albon and Nico Hulkenberg able to set second-best times in inferior machinery, Perez’s underwhelming 12th-position finish in qualifying left fans questioning his pace.
Hamilton did have Bottas and Heikki, but he also had Button, Rosberg, and Alonso as teammates. He also had the likes of Vettel, Webber, Raikkonen, Massa, and Alonso in competitive cars.
Just saying.
— Paolo Pilipino (@TheScreamingV10) June 18, 2023
Bottas never failed to Get into Q3 in five Years With Mercedes
Perez failed like 10 times Since 2021— Gabriel Valeriano¹⁹¹⁰ | #KM7🇫🇷💎 | #VA17🖤🤍💜 (@Gabvaleriano19) June 17, 2023
Proper 2nd driver stuff. Championship Pretender.
— Nabeel (@EnterTheHangman) June 17, 2023
If he doesn't get top 5 tomorrow I expect Tsunoda to be replacing Perez at Red Bull and Lawson joining AlphaTauri before Austria
— MrAaron23 (@Mr_Aaron_23) June 17, 2023
While these tweets talk about Checo being under the mark, here’s some reactions that show how much of a mark he actually might be missing:
Checo "WE need to do a better job" Perez. And still people think he is is a WDC contender 😂😂😂😂😂
— Bascanvas (@bascanvas) June 17, 2023
That "60% of the field could win in a mercedes" quote not lookin so hot now
— The Kid (@TillerSports) June 17, 2023
Hows his contract looking for 2024?
— Kevin (@DeepDiveKevin) June 17, 2023
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Watch this Story: Lewis Hamilton’s Charitable Masterpiece, Sergio Perez’s Mexican Tribute- F1 Drivers Get Creative With Monaco GP Lids
Me looking for perez championship challenge pic.twitter.com/HAR73IXRvP
— chrissi saw harry💓 (@hollandsflicker) June 17, 2023
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So as it’s pretty clear that fans are unhappy, the unhappiest should be Checo. As he needs to up the ante to ‘not’ become the second driver or worse, get axed.
It’s vividly imaginative for anyone following F1 right now to say just one thing to Checo. And it could very likely be: ‘Hey Checo! We Remember Sakhir 2020 and Abu Dhabi 2021. You are our Minister of Defense, and it’s high time to defend what’s rightfully yours.’