Perez Under Pressure Names Mexico City Grand Prix His 'Most Important Weekend'

Thursday, 26 October 2023 at 17:00

Red Bull F1 driver Sergio Perez added pressure on his performance ahead of the Mexico City Grand Prix, saying it is his "most important weekend."

Sergio Perez has gone through a lot of criticism throughout the 2023 season. The Mexican driver has been struggling particularly with qualifying sessions.

To put his qualifying results in the first part of the season into perspective, Haas driver Nico Hulkenberg, who stands 15th in the Drivers' Championship, has made it to Q3 about as many times as Checo in the season's first half.

Red Bull Racing is having its most dominant season of all time while Perez is barely holding on to his second place in the Drivers' Championship, more than 200 points behind Max Verstappen.

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The pressure on his performances has been increasing, with his team principal, Christian Horner, claiming he "urgently needs to get back into shape."

The Mexican driver finished eighth in Singapore, retired in Japan, and finished tenth in Qatar. After three consecutive failed weekends, Perez improved his results in Austin finishing fourth after Hamilton's disqualification.

While he made an important step forward at the Circuit of the Americas, Perez will want to score even better on his home soil this weekend during the Mexico City Grand Prix.

As quoted by skysports.com, the 33-year-old described the weekend at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez as his "most important weekend."

There were speculations that Perez's future in Red Bull depends on achieving second place in the Drivers' Championship. However, Christia Horner made it clear there is no such pre-mandate in the Mexican driver.

“"With this car, it would be fantastic in such a season that we've had if we could finish first and second. But there's no pre-mandate on Checo that you have to finish second or you won't be driving the car next year. That's never been discussed."”

The seven-time World Champion is currently the closest challenger for the second place in the Drivers' Championship. The current gap between Perez and Hamilton is 39 points.