Sergio Pérez has revealed that Red Bull’s 2023 car is “going to be better” than their title-winning challenger from last season, with the Mexican having personally pushed the Austrians in a “certain direction”.
2022 was an odd season for Pérez, with the Mexican having started and ended the season very strongly, only for the middle of the season to let him down.
Checo was labelled as a title contender early in the campaign after claiming pole at Saudi Arabia and victory at Monaco, before falling behind team-mate Max Verstappen.
It appeared, though, that it was more of a case of Verstappen getting faster, rather than the 33-year-old getting slower.
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The team’s upgrades appeared to suit Verstappen’s driving style more than Pérez’s, something which supported his charge to 15 victories.
Had the car suited Pérez better for more of the season, then perhaps he would’ve remained in title contention for longer, something it appears that has been worked on ahead of the forthcoming season.
“Yes, certainly. There are things that we are going to work on,” Pérez said at the team’s launch, as reported by Motorsport.com.
“We believe that the car is already going to be better. I’ve been pushing the team in a certain direction, and we believe we’re heading in that direction.
“But we’ll see. Once we get the car, it’s all about adapting ourselves to the car and try to maximise it.”
Despite the RB18 having not suited him for the entire season, Pérez’s performances did dip mid-season, with the Mexican having since accepted responsibility for taking the “wrong direction” at times.
Had he not struggled mid-season, then he would’ve likely claimed second in the Drivers’ Championship instead of Charles Leclerc, with Pérez having ultimately settled for third.
He’s used his past experiences, though, to ensure that he enters 2023 as prepared as possible, with the Mexican having looked back on “mistakes we did”.
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“Learning from the mistakes we did, I think sometimes we took the wrong direction with the set-up and that’s very important for us to understand,” Pérez explained.
“I think we figured out towards the end of the season what we were doing with the car, so that’s been crucial for us.
“And I think we are we are heading in the right direction with it.”