Sergio Perez has admitted to having struggled to adapt to the RB19’s upgrades this season, with the Mexican putting this down to him having to change his driving style.
Perez started 2023 excellently and was at first labelled as a real title contender, after he won two of the opening four races.
He showed resilience and determination against Max Verstappen; however, things have drastically changed since Checo’s last win at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
The Miami Grand Prix was a significant turning point, as Verstappen won from ninth on the grid, denying Perez the chance to convert pole position into victory.
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Since then, Verstappen has been unstoppable, whilst Perez has faltered.
Whilst the reigning World Champion has been busy winning the last 10 races, Perez’s form has been inconsistent, with him only now starting to get back into a run of strong results.
Verstappen has always had the edge over the 33-year-old since Baku, something Checo puts down to upgrades not suiting him, meaning he’s had to make adjustments to his driving style.
“For a driver it’s really difficult to be adapting to the car instead of just things coming naturally,” Perez told Sky Sports.
“The last few races I’ve been a step or two behind and always thinking consciously how I have to drive the car.
“Sometimes with how the car has been developed [it] doesn’t really suit me as much, so I have to work harder for it.”
Some have questioned whether Red Bull have been upgrading the car to suit Verstappen’s driving style, given that his dominance has shown no signs of ending.
However, this has been quashed by Perez and the Austrians.
Despite this, Checo admits that some of the upgrades having worked for his driving style, forcing him to “adapt”.
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“I think every driver through their career or through each season get some upgrades to the car that adapt easier to your driving style than others,” Perez said.
“Sometimes you will put a part in it and you will straight away go faster with it. Sometimes you will have to adapt to it.
“I haven‘t been able to adapt as quickly as I should, and I had to change my driving style a bit to adapt into the car more than in the beginning of the season, for example, when things were coming more naturally.”