Red Bull Racing’s Sergio Perez seemingly had himself setup for the season of his career at the beginning of the 2023 campaign. However, he has gone through a rough patch this year from Monaco to the British Grand Prix. In any normal circumstance one might say he would be fine but his teammate Max Verstappen has been completely dominant this season. Verstappen has won 8 races in a row and has shown no signs of slowing down.
While Perez has improve in form recently it may be too little too late. Team principal Christian Horner stated the following to F1.com: “I think he’ll take a lot of confidence from this performance. He qualified on the front row, he led the Grand Prix, he finished second, so yeah, he goes into the break a clear second in the drivers’ championship and he’ll take some confidence out of that.”
Horner Continued on Perez and His Championship Race
“I think Checo knows that, barring a disaster for Max, this championship is out of reach, so it’s about him maximizing his own performance, not losing out to any of the drivers behind and trying to pick up a few wins between now and the end of the year.” Max currently leads the championship by 125 points. A margin equivalent to 5 race wins without fastest lap. To say the championship is still within grasps for Perez would take some catastrophic finishes from the reigning champion. Statistically, Verstappen could seal the championship as soon as Singapore. If at the time Verstappen has at least a 207 point lead over second place no one would be able to catch him.
While this is speculative. It’s not entirely unreasonable to believe. Verstappen has won all but two races this season and there is no indication that he has fallen off of form. If he keeps winning the championship will be called long before the final race of the season.