The title in 2023, Sergio Pérez believes in it!

Sergio Pérez must be a follower of the Coué method. After a 2022 season where he was no match for his teammate Max Verstappen – 2 victories for him against 15 successes for the Dutchman – the Mexican’s ambition remains no less overflowing.

Confident of his abilities, the native of Guadalajara (Mexico) is not holding back from playing a major role in the title race in 2023. A role as a leader or a model teammate? Czech leans towards the first option, considering that he has reached today, at the age of 32, soon to be 33, “(his) best level”.

“I think that as pilots of Formula 1, we are constantly working to meet new challenges, considers the 3rd man in the 2022 championship. But I feel like, right now, I'm pretty much at my best. I really want to continue this momentum and start next year at a very high [level]. »

Continuing on a momentum which, at present, is not really reflected in the statistics. One victory in 2021, two in 2022, would Sergio Pérez aim for three in 2023? Better than that, he’s aiming for the title! “[We need] to make sure that we can keep this consistency throughout the year (…) and fight for the title, if we were to have a similar level of car [in 2023]. »

Pérez, alone against everyone?

We will still have to overcome a major obstacle: Max Verstappen. The double world champion made short work of his teammate last year despite a mixed start to the season, in a team that is totally devoted to him. Sergio Pérez kept the suspense going for the first quarter of the season until his victory in Monaco. Maybe the hangover from the next day ended up staying all season…

In any case, the Mexican assures us: he is sparing no effort to find the consistency that he sorely lacks in order to be a serious contender for the title.

“Certainly, [2022] has started very well. We had some reliability issues early on, but things seemed on track, recalls the double GP winner in 2022. I had a few bad races that really put me [out] of championship contention, so there's work to do in that regard, with the team. »

Will the work be enough to play for the title? Will he even have the right to come and tickle his bulky teammate? When you know the internal politics at Red Bull, doubt is more than permitted…

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