“Lives in a Dream World”: Sergio Perez’s Title Hopes Shattered as Max Verstappen’s Dominance Dubbed Too Hot to Handle

Sergio Perez began the 2023 season with the target of being the World Champion. It looked like he had had enough of being Red Bull’s “Second driver” to Max Verstappen for two seasons. After 4 races, both drivers had won 2 races each. And it looked like maybe Perez was proving what he believed. But after poor performances in the last 3 races, his ambitions have been slashed by critics.

After the Canadian GP, Red Bull once again ended with a mixed bag of learnings. Max Verstappen led the entire race and secured his 41st victory, matching Ayrton Senna’s record and also clinching Red Bull’s 100th victory in F1. On the other hand, his teammate, Sergio Perez, put up an average showing. He started P13 on the grid after an awful qualifying and finished the race in P6.

Mike van Weert said, as quoted by F1 Maximaal, “We shouldn’t have believed [Sergio] Pérez’s hopeful words at the beginning of the season, but if the man from Guadalajara still believes in a championship, then he lives in a dream world. Pérez’s performance is lousy in qualifying and it’s not about writing home in the race either.

He even compared Perez to his World Champion teammate, saying, “If [Max] Verstappen had to start from eleventh place in Canada, he would have at least been on the podium, even if he wasn’t too happy with the RB19. Pérez has to look in the mirror very quickly and be honest with himself, because Pérez now looks a bit like a rookie compared to Verstappen.”

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Checo not only finished P6 but also looked slower compared to the Ferraris and he had his concerns about the same.

Sergio Perez Concerned with Red Bull’s Lack of Pace Compared to Ferrari

One might have thought that Ferrari challenging Red Bull on the track ended with the 2022 season. And it has been that way so far this year. But Ferrari displayed some good race pace and strategic calls in Canada. While Verstappen was clear of all other drivers, Perez in P6 could not match the two Ferraris in P4 and P5.

Perez gained 6 positions in the race after starting P12. But after reaching P6, he could not make his way past the Ferraris. In a post-race interview, Perez said, “We just didn’t have the pace and we don’t understand why, that’s the weird thing so we have to figure it out.” The statement feels a bit ironic considering that his teammate is effortlessly winning race after race in the same car.

The next Grand Prix is at Red Bull’s home turf, Austria. If Sergio Perez finds his form back at the Austrian GP, the team celebrations will be amplified. Though if this miserable run carries on, one may wonder where the rope ends for Checo at RBR!

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