How Red Bull driver Sergio Perez assesses his current performance and what he thinks has gone wrong recently in the 2024 Formula 1 season
With two retirements in four races and only eight points in the same period, Sergio Perez has not shone much recently in the 2024 Formula 1 season. But ahead of the Austrian Grand Prix in Spielberg, he believes he has identified the source of the problem
According to his analysis, “various factors” have led to him “getting a little lost” over the past three race weekends, says Perez. In Barcelona, for example, he and his crew made “a lot of changes” to the Red Bull RB20, “more than in winter testing”. This meant that he was no longer able to get anywhere.
He is particularly annoyed when the car tends to understeer, Perez continues. And if the set-up is not right, this has major consequences in modern Formula 1: “A few tenths can change your life dramatically. If you don’t make the most of your package, it can make the difference between a win and eighth place.”
This is exactly what happened at the Spanish Grand Prix: Max Verstappen won the race in the Red Bull, Perez finished eighth in the sister car – with “completely different problems than before”, says Perez. However, he has “learned a lot” from this and is taking “something positive overall” from Barcelona because he has now “understood a lot” about the RB20 and its peculiarities.
Why Perez remains calm
It is now all the more important to work “flat out” to improve performance “weekend after weekend”, emphasizes Perez. “As a team, we have to draw the right conclusions and develop properly. In my opinion, that is the key.”
“Of course, I know there will be good and bad weekends. But I think we are on a good path now.” He says this in the knowledge that the gaps are now “extremely small”. “A few tenths can make a big difference here,” says Perez.
He is not driving himself crazy because of this, however, but considers it crucial to “take a relaxed view of the whole thing”, Perez continues. Because he has already sealed his contract extension with Red Bull, he can now concentrate fully on his sporting activities and has “one less thing to worry about.”
Perez’s forecast for the rest of the 2024 season
For Perez firmly believes that Formula 1 will remain close, as it was in Spain and some races before that. In his opinion, the balance of power will no longer shift significantly. “Unless someone finds a miracle weapon. But I don’t think so.”
“It is becoming increasingly difficult to find more power. And there will be tracks where one team is strong and vice versa. So it depends on the details, how precise you are and how much you can get out of the weekends,” says Perez.
