Sergio Perez has revealed that he’s hired a mental coach to help him discover “positivity again”, in an attempt to not only improve his driving but also his mentality when with his family.
2023 has been a very challenging year for Perez, who actually started the campaign in tremendous fashion.
He took the fight to Max Verstappen in the opening rounds and in many ways came out on top, something which saw him win two of the opening four races.
Perez was driving so well that he was seen as Verstappen’s only title rival; however, that all changed after the Miami Grand Prix.
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Following Miami, Perez started making unnecessary errors, the first of which being a costly crash during Q1 at the Monaco Grand Prix.
His mistakes caused his confidence to drop, which in return massively impacted his driving ability.
The Mexican recognises that this happened and that the summer in particular was a struggle for him, given just how rapidly his campaign had spiralled out of control.
“When the season started, the car suited me perfectly. But cars evolve during the season,” Perez told Dutch publication De Limburger.
“After Miami, things went downhill. I had a different car that didn’t suit me so well. Then I failed to get into Q3 several times, so my confidence dropped. As a result, the driving went a lot less as well.
“I struggled a lot in the summer. In the beginning, I was competing for the world title but, from May onwards, that changed. I was driving without confidence. At one point I just didn’t come out [of Q2]. That was very tough. Because you drive with a top team, the pressure to perform increases quickly.”
Whilst the first half of 2023 was ultimately a disappointment for Perez, he has shown some decent form since the turn of the summer break.
His results at times still haven’t been what you’d expect from a Red Bull driver; however, he believes he’s now back to “100 per cent” and has “conviction again” in his driving.
His confidence has returned so much in fact, that he thinks he can fight for the 2024 Drivers’ Championship.
“But I didn’t give up and kept working hard with the engineers to sort things out,” Perez continued. “My self-confidence came back when I realised that I won races under my own steam earlier this year.
“I dare say I am 100 per cent again now. And I also have the conviction again that I can have a shot at the world title next year.”
Regaining his confidence hasn’t been easy for the 33-year-old, who hired a mental coach to help him return to his usual self.
This wasn’t just to improve his driving but also to ensure that he was the “best version” of himself when with his family, something which he found challenging when going through his downward spiral after Miami.
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“When you are having such a hard time with your work, it is difficult to be cheerful at home with your wife and children,” Perez revealed.
“So I hired a mental coach because my family deserves to have that cheerful father at home. Together with my coach, I worked on becoming the best version of myself at home, but also as a driver.
“As a result, I found positivity again. I am now 33 years old, but I am still learning every day. On the track, but certainly also off it.
“Partly because of this, I will never get tired of Formula 1. It’s really amazing what this sport still gives me.”