David Coulthard slams Sergio Perez for being ‘overconfident’ after Saudi win
David Coulthard insists that Sergio Perez became overconfident after his race win in Jeddah.
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David Coulthard, Sergio Perez
Sergio Perez aims to win his maiden F1 championship in 2023. The Mexican driver has stated his intentions to challenge reigning world champion Max Verstappen at Red Bull. The 33-year-old won the Saudi Arabian GP this season. However, ‘Checo’ struggled at the Australian GP shortly after. Former Red Bull driver David Coulthard believes this results from the Mexican’s overconfidence.
Coulthard was critical of Sergio Perez’s performance at Albert Park. The 52-year-old remarked over the underwhelming weekend of the Mexican driver. DC said, “Free practice off the track, qualifying, bins it on the first lap.” The British driver further mentioned what he believed was overconfidence. As the 33-year-old came home in P1 in the round before the Australian GP. David Coulthard stated, “I think he was overconfident, coming off the back of his victory in Saudi.”
Subsequently, the former F1 driver highlighted Sergio Perez’s late braking maneuver as the Mexican driver tried to even outmatch his teammate’s braking rhythm into turn 3. Unfortunately, this did not work out for the 33-year-old. Coulthard concluded, “It turns out he braked 20 meters later on that first run than even Max Verstappen, that is a rather optimistic lunge into Turn 3, which took him to the barrier.”
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Sergio Perez prepared to bounce back post-Australian GP
The Mexican driver might have faced a setback at Albert Park as he could only finish P5 in the race. However, there are 20 races left in the calendar, which in turn provides Sergio Perez ample opportunities to match Max Verstappen. Presently, the two Red Bull drivers are separated by only 15 points, with the Dutchman taking the lead.
Sergio Perez has been vocal about his faith in Red Bull this season. As the 33-year-old believes that the Austrian team will provide equal treatment to both drivers. Team Principal Christian Horner has also expressed this. Although, Verstappen is confident about winning his third world championship. This might prove to be a major challenge for Perez.
Thus, David Coulthard insists that Sergio Perez suffered due to his overconfidence at the Australian GP. The Mexican driver must bring himself back to the ground in order to be back in the running for the world title. As such underwhelming results will only make matters worse for Perez in his title fight against the all-conquering Max Verstappen.
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Armaan Agarwal
(2310 Articles Published)