Four-time Formula 1 World Champion Alain Prost has criticised Sergio Perez’s father for being “counterproductive”, after the Mexican made a comparison which Prost categorically disagrees with.
Similar to last season, Perez has seen his title chances go up in smoke following his own errors, most notably during several qualifying sessions.
The Mexican finished 16th at the Monaco Grand Prix after crashing during Q1, whilst he could only salvage fifth earlier in the season in Australia, following another error which resulted in a Q1 exit.
Perez only has himself to blame for being 53 points behind Max Verstappen in the Drivers’ Championship, given that they have equal machinery.
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The pressure of defeating Verstappen appears to have simply become too much, with Prost having since questioned his approach to taking on the reigning World Champion.
Prost has questioned why Perez has spoken so openly about how much he wants to beat Verstappen, something the Frenchman admits is an “almost impossible task”.
“He should make Max start to have doubts, or make sure Red Bull starts to think differently about his position within the team,” Prost told L’Equipe.
“A driver always tries to tip the balance in his favour, whether it’s in terms of car setup or within the team itself.
“That’s where Perez is going wrong. We all know that he is facing an almost impossible mission.”
Perez has proven that he does have the pace to beat Verstappen; however, he hasn’t yet been able to claim top honours over a string of races.
Perhaps speaking so openly about defeating Verstappen has in itself put more pressure on the Mexican’s shoulders, whilst Prost also notes that his “entourage” aren’t offering the correct support.
Prost believes Perez’s father is making his title push much more difficult, especially after he compared his son’s and Verstappen’s fight to that of Prost’s and Ayrton Senna’s.
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The F1 legend believes what Perez’s father has said is “pointless” and will only work against Checo, something which is appearing to be the truth based on recent performances.
“First of all, Perez should not shout so loudly that he wants to beat Max, but his entourage isn’t helping with that either,” said Prost.
“Last month I read that his father told the media that the fight between Perez and Max is comparable to the fight I had with Ayrton. That is pointless and actually only counterproductive.”