Sergio Perez is hoping to “restart” his title challenge this weekend at the Canadian Grand Prix, after slipping to 53 points behind Max Verstappen following a disastrous couple of races.
Perez made a solid start to 2023 and was looking like Verstappen’s only championship rival; however, his chances of beating the Dutchman worsened in Monaco and Spain.
Whilst Verstappen converted pole position into victory at the Circuit de Monaco, Perez was only able to finish 16th, due to starting last.
The 33-year-old embarrassingly crashed out in Q1, 12 months on from being victorious at the iconic venue.
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Perez failed to make Q3 again at the Spanish Grand Prix, where he was eliminated in Q2.
He could only salvage 11th in qualifying at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, before finishing the race in fourth.
Perez’s bad run of recent form has allowed Verstappen to build a nice advantage in the championship, with Perez admitting that he wants to “get back on the form” he showed at the start of the year.
“Basically, I want a restart, go again,” Perez said.
“Monaco was all down to me, I had a really bad mistake.
“But then in Barcelona, in the qualifying, again it was tricky with the damp conditions and we didn’t manage to have a good quali and then we paid the price on Sunday.
“I’m looking forward to get back on the form we had in the early season.”
Red Bull boss Christian Horner actually thinks Verstappen’s 53-point advantage is a good thing for Perez, with the team principal believing it has taken the “pressure off” the Mexican.
“I think now there is that separation in the points, that may actually take the pressure off him (Perez) a little and the expectation he’s putting on himself,” Horner said after the Spanish GP.
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Perez disagrees with Horner’s comments though, due to believing that he needs to “deliver to our maximum”.
“I don’t think so. We always have to deliver to our maximum,” Perez said. “And we just have to make sure we deliver.
“We have a great car and we should be having a lot of podiums, wins and so on from now until the end of the year.”