Sergio Perez conceded that his qualifying crash in the Monaco GP in May was a catalyst for his deterioration in form for the 2023 season.
The Mexican driver saw a strong start to the season, winning two of the first four of 2023’s races – in Saudi Arabia and Australia.
After this start, many thought that Perez could challenge his teammate Max Verstappen for the world championship this year.
However, things have spectacularly derailed for the Mexican since a fateful crash during qualifying at the Monaco GP in May.
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The crash during Q1 at the Circuit de Monaco led to his first pointless result of the season, and things got worse for the Red Bull driver from there.
It marked the first of five consecutive weekends that he failed to qualify in the top ten.
Speaking ahead of the Belgian GP, Perez remarked: “Certainly after Monaco, I lost some confidence because of the way the crash happened.
“I lost a bit of confidence with the car and that set me back.
“I have my psychology and that is something I work on.”
Perez has seen a welcome return to podium finishes in recent weeks, coming in third at the Austrian GP and third in the Hungarian GP last weekend.
He believes that this is the turbulent nature of F1 and is happy to be in a better place psychologically right now.
The Mexican remarked: “Other than that, it is how the sport is. You have good moments and bad moments but when you are at Red Bull, the pressure is always higher in that regard.
“If you have a bad session, you have to answer questions about your future straight away.
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“It is how it is but luckily enough, I am in a good place and I just have to focus on making sure I enjoy my job and enjoy the weekend.”
Perez remains second in the Drivers Standings – albeit a very distant second – behind the rampant Verstappen, who has opened up a 110-point lead.