Max Verstappen admits that it’s “difficult to say why” Sergio Perez has struggled during 2023, insisting that Formula 1 is a “hard sport.”
Perez’s three-car tangle that resulted in him ending the Qatar Sprint race in the gravel handed the title to Verstappen, who notched his 14th win of 2023 the following day.
Meanwhile, Perez, having failed to make Q3 for the eighth time this year, could only recover to 10th after picking up a trio of time penalties for track limits infringements.
It marked a continuation of Perez’s torrid run, with the Mexican now trailing 209 points behind Verstappen in the Drivers’ Championship with five rounds remaining.
Perez’s alarming slump, which has yielded five points in the last three race weekends, prompted Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko to note that the 33-year-old was suffering the same fate as Pierre Gasly before him.
Asked by ServusTV why his recent team-mates all encounter substantial trouble alongside him, Verstappen answered: “At the end of the day, this is a hard sport.
“We are of course team-mates, and we work well together, I already did that with Pierre and Alex [Albon]. Bottom line, you have to perform.
“It is difficult to say why different things sometimes don’t go exactly as they should.”
Perez had taken advantage of misfortune befalling his team-mate to close to within one point of Verstappen after he won for the second time in four races in Azerbaijan.
Although he started nine places behind the sister Red Bull next time out, Verstappen overhauled Perez in Miami to commence a record run of 10 consecutive victories.
“It’s difficult to say, but after Miami and the subsequent races the feeling was very good,” Verstappen added. “Then 10 victories followed, so you think it will happen.”
Verstappen has become only the 11th driver in F1 history to become a three-time World Champion, accompanying the likes of Niki Lauda, Jackie Stewart and Ayrton Senna.
Asked about joining those greats, he said: “It is of course very special. I never thought this was possible. I have three titles and am on a par with big names in F1 history.”
Verstappen’s 14th win of the year brought him to within one of the record he achieved last season and left him only one shy of the half-century mark in his career.
By the end of the season, the Dutchman could eclipse both Sebastian Vettel (53) and Alain Prost (51) for third on the all-time list.
Despite being uncontested this season, Verstappen concedes that he is not tired of winning and wants to continue dominating.
“Winning is boring? No, not for me,” he remarked.
“This is the best possible: winning in F1! If I can no longer win, then I find it boring. I am very happy with Red Bull and hope that I can continue for many years to come.”
Having heralded his latest title success his “best” yet, Verstappen explains that he is now a much more composed driver behind the wheel compared to his earlier years.
“I am now much more experienced,” he reasoned. “In terms of pace, I was also fast in ’21, but perhaps I am a bit calmer now.
“The first title had already been won, the second too, so then you are a bit calmer and you also have a bit more life experience. That always helps.”
Coincidence or not, but Checos performance went down the drain the very next race after he declared he would fight for the title. Yes, it is a very hard sport if your teammate goes by the name of Max Verstappen. Who has become much calmer because there is no one racing on par with him…