F1 Azerbaijan GP: “He doesn’t have the consistency,” Former F1 driver insists Sergio Perez lacks the capability to beat Max Verstappen
Ralf Schumacher has insisted that despite his good results so far, Perez cannot beat Verstappen in the long run.
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Max Verstappen, Ralf Schumacher and Sergio Perez
The Azerbaijan Grand Prix saw the dominant Red Bulls cross the line in P1 and P2 yet again, to the surprise of a few. Sergio Perez, however, was the winner this time, in contrast to the usual favorite Max Verstappen. With this win, he has now won the same number of races as Verstappen in 2023, with the tally standing at two a piece.
Perez declared his intent to challenge for the title after his win at Jeddah, and has insisted that the gloves are off. He no longer wishes to play second fiddle to the Dutchman, and wants to bask in the glory of being World Champion himself. He has followed up on these ambitions thus far, having won two out of the first four races of the season.
Former Williams driver-turned-pundit Ralf Schumacher has provided his input on Perez’s title charge. He believes that the Mexican, despite putting up an admirable fight so far, will be unable to better his teammate. Speaking to SkySports, he said, “Sergio Perez drove heavily in Azerbaijan. Here and there he has the potential to be faster than Max Verstappen. But with a view to the World Cup fight, I believe that he doesn’t have the consistency of Verstappen”.
Sergio Perez has the mettle and the ambition to challenge Verstappen, but as Schumacher believes, consistency will play a huge role in the Mexican’s dreams materializing into reality. The fact that the team has allowed the drivers to race each other, uninhibited plays into his favor, but he must turn up the ante, and deliver results like Baku and Jeddah week in, week out in order to maintain this title charge.
Max Verstappen still remains the favorite to be world champion, once again
Sergio Perez may have edged Max Verstappen out at Baku and Jeddah, however, in both races, the current world champion was subject to bad luck. In Jeddah, he encountered an issue during qualifying, forcing him to start outside of the top ten. He made up the places however, cutting through the field ruthlessly to achieve P2.
Similarly in Baku, Verstappen lost the lead of a race he was tipped to win due to an unfortunate call from the team regarding his pitstop, after which the Safety Car was deployed. This saw him drop from P1 to P3, handing Perez the lead. Regardless, he managed to overtake Leclerc and claim second. He also endured balance issues, along with overheating of his tires. Considering all this, P2 is an admirable result.
Another factor to facilitate Schumacher’s statements, is that Perez has a proclivity to win only on street circuits, while Verstappen is by far the dominant entity on permanent race courses. There are only seven street circuits on the calendar out of twenty-three this year, and Perez will have to prove his prowess on proper tracks too in order to take Verstappen’s crown
Sergio Perez stands only six points behind the leader Max Verstappen, however, he still has a mountain to climb, should he desire to keep his title ambitions alive. He must maintain consistency in his performances, in order to put the pressure on Verstappen, who will else run away with the title, as he has in the past.
In case you missed it:
- F1 Azerbaijan GP: “He needs to do it on a normal track,” Christian Horner asks Sergio Perez to prove himself at proper courses, not just street circuits
- Alpine left frustrated after a ‘frantic and difficult’ Azerbaijan GP as the team’s horrendous luck in Baku continues
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Tanuj Sadasivam
(245 Articles Published)