Nico Rosberg claims Sergio Perez let down F1 fans with his poor title challenge against Max Verstappen

Nico Rosberg compared Perez-Verstappen's situation with that of his and Hamilton's three-year-long battle at Mercedes.

Nico Rosberg, Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez (Via IMAGO)

Nico Rosberg, the 2016 F1 World Champion, has expressed his disappointment over the lack of competition for the F1 world championship in 2023. He spoke about the lack of competitiveness from Sergio Perez‘s side in what should’ve been a fight between him and Max Verstappen. The ex-Mercedes driver claims the Mexican of making it too easy for Verstappen to win the title. He believes Perez is letting the fans down because of his poor performance.

Rosberg compared Perez-Verstappen’s situation to that of his and Lewis Hamilton‘s. He believes he thoroughly gave competition to Hamilton when he was dominating in the early 2010s. He wants the title fight to be competitive and shouldn’t be easy for a driver. Perez is possibly the only one on the grid who can directly compete with Verstappen, as they share the same car.

In the Sky Sports F1 podcast, the German said, “It’s a really really tough situation for him. I can really relate. He’s having such a difficult time.” He thinks the Mexicans should’ve been competitive from the start. However, Perez is falling behind his teammates after below-average performances in Japan and Qatar respectively.

“I mean Qatar was a horrible weekend again for him, like so bad, with the best car,” he said, criticizing the P2 runner in the Driver’s Standings. “He really needs to find a way there, because as he’s driving, Red Bull might want to consider him even for next year,” he said in his closing statements.

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Sergio Perez’s response to his Red Bull future rumors

After the team’s advisor Helmut Marko made statements in the media of Formula 1 having no certainties, it slightly felt like a jab at the Mexican. Perez spoke about this, contradicting Marko’s statement, saying he still has a year left on his contract until the end of the 2024 season.

“I’m just focusing on what I can do best, focusing on enjoying the moment, and that’s all my focus and all my energy is,” he said. He accepted his performance trail but said these were just phases that only lasted a few months. He believes he’s still capable of doing what he’s known for, and he’d continue doing it.

The Mexican sits at P2 in the Driver’s Standings and trailed his teammate by a whopping 138-point deficit. Perez is constantly being outscored by Lewis Hamilton, who’s cutting the point gap between him and Perez for the P2 spot.

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Tags: Max Verstappen Sergio Perez

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Justin P Joy

(5210 Articles Published)

Justin P Joy is a Motorsports writer and editor at FirstSportz. He has been a motorsport journalist since 2020 and has published over 4500 articles. Justin has extensively covered two NASCAR, Formula One, and Moto GP seasons for FirstSportz. He has invested more than a decade of his life on Motorsports, first as a fan and later as a dedicated writer. Justin’s in-depth knowledge of Motorsports and his experience as a fan make his writing resonate with most racing fans worldwide. Justin's love for racing started when he discovered Moto GP at the age of 8. That love later guided him into the world of Formula 1. He fell in love with NASCAR after watching Tom Cruise’s “Days of Thunder” and has been an avid follower of the premier stock car racing series since. He has also been investing his time to exploring WEC, WRC, Formula E, Extreme E, and IndyCar in a bid to deeply understand the culture and history of Motorsports to present a unique perspective to the fans.

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