The life of a Formula 1 driver isn’t easy. Because it’s such a limited sport—just 20 people in the world competing against each other—every driver has a spotlight on them. They’re under immense scrutiny at all times. But if there’s one seat that comes with even more expectations, pressure, and scrutiny, it’s the second seat at Red Bull alongside Max Verstappen. The two-time champion has a knack for making all his teammates look bad, and for the past three seasons, Sergio Perez has had to bear the brunt of it. Well, it hasn’t been easy on him.

Mental health is something that’s become crucial to talk about. With how stressful life in F1 has been for Perez lately, he opened up about his struggles. But as he’s working through and trying to overcome his demons, he’s been hit with another ability-based reality check despite being a “great racing driver.”

The struggles continue for Sergio Perez

In his interview with De Limburger, where he discussed mental health, Perez said, “Formula 1 is my sport, my life, my passion. If you are having such a hard time at work, it is difficult to be cheerful at home with your wife and children. I hired a mental coach because my family deserves to have that cheerful father at home. With my coach, I started working on becoming the best version of myself at home and as a driver. As a result, I have found positivity again.” Just as he started reviving his love for F1, former Ferrari General Manager Peter Windsor pointed out his Achilles’ Heel.

In a YouTube video on Cameron F1’s channel, Windsor was asked what happened to the “very good racing driver” Perez. He replied, “When you say he’s always been a very good racing driver, I think he’s always been really good in defense. There have been a number of great races. He’s put in immense pressure from behind and managed to hold it off.” Case in point: the 2021 Abu Dhabi GP, where he kept Lewis Hamilton behind him while Verstappen made up almost a 10-second deficit. That’s sort of where the good qualities of his driving start faltering.

Windsor continued, “I think he’s got incredible feel with the exits of corners and applying traction and looking after his rear tires, and managing the rear tires in acceleration zones. But that only applies on 90-degree corners where it’s all about traction and getting it right. Any corner that requires the car to be manipulated mid-corner with a difficult entry which has got braking load against lateral load, then he’s kind of lost.” That’s where Verstappen and many other drivers have gotten the better of him. 

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This might explain why Max Verstappen has just been able to extract so much more from the RB19. Especially in a proper driver’s track like Suzuka. But the thing is, part of Verstappen’s prowess this season can be credited to Perez.

Perez has pushed Verstappen to be his best driver version

At the start of the season, Perez was a genuine title contender alongside Verstappen. After the season’s first four races, the Red Bull drivers had two wins apiece. Right after that, though, the pressures of fighting against Verstappen and matching his pace seem to have gotten to Perez, and his performance took a dip. Since then, he’s been highly inconsistent over race weekends. Be that as it may, his intentions early in the season got the best out of Verstappen.

In his Japanese GP analysis on YouTube, Windsor discussed how Perez has helped Verstappen and Red Bull. He said, “Checo [Perez] played his role, of course he did. Won races, lots of testing [and] lots of development. And also a very good teammate. If you take out some of the early season comments, in reality, his ability has allowed Max [Verstappen] to get on a do what he does with his own ability.”

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Do you think Sergio Perez will find a solution to his corner-navigating problems like he’s found a solution to being a more positive person and driver?