Sergio Perez has admitted he has endured a poor year as he prepares for his home grand prix this weekend in Mexico City.
The Red Bull driver sits seven places and 204 points behind team mate Max Verstappen in the championship standings. Red Bull lost the lead of the constructors’ standings to McLaren last month and are now under pressure from Ferrari.
Mexico’s most successful driver in history heads into his home grand prix having failed to score a podium finish since the fifth round of the championship in China. He says a good performance in Mexico will help him to feel better about how his 2024 has gone so far.
“I know I’ve had a terrible season, a very difficult one,” Perez admitted. “It started really well, but it’s been really, really difficult.
“For me, if I get a strong result, it can definitely change my season massively in terms of personal feelings. So I’m really up for it.”
Perez has finished on the podium at his home race twice before, in 2021 and 2022, both as a Red Bull driver. He says he is eager to return and bring joy to his home fans this weekend.
“I think that moment will stay with me forever,” he said, “having my son up there with me on the podium, watching me. It’s something that I hope he remembers forever. If not, I’ll have the picture at least to show him when he’s older, you know. And those moments, I think, are the ones that really matter to me. And I hope I can repeat that one this weekend.”
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Red Bull appeared to have lost ground to their rivals in recent months before last weekend in the United States where Verstappen won the sprint race and was in contention for the race victory. Perez says his form as a driver has reflected that of his team over the second half of the season so far.
“I feel that I’m in the same boat as the team,” he said. “We’re working towards solving it. We found a big issue in Monza. So after Monza, we thought we were finding directions. We’re heading in the right direction.
“I think this is Formula 1. Sometimes the results are not coming, and you just have to make sure you keep your head down, you focus on the stuff that you can control, and the rest is something that you cannot get bothered with.”
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2024 Mexican Grand Prix
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