"Other drivers also have had bad races", claims Perez

Red Bull driver Sergio Perez insists that he is not too bothered by the immense pressure that he has had to withstand as a team-mate of Max Verstappen at the Milton Keynes-based outfit.

Despite a freshly-signed two-year contract extension, Sergio Perez's future at Red Bull has been hanging in the balance. The Mexican enjoyed an impressive start to the 2024 F1 season, but his performance faded just after five races.

The six-time F1 race winner has struggled for one-lap pace in qualifying which has often had a huge impact on his race weekends. At the last race before the summer break at Spa, it had emerged that Red Bull might re-consider its driver line-up for 2025 with Liam Lawson and Daniel Ricciardo having emerged as possible replacement for Perez.

However, the team has confirmed that the Mexican will continue to drive for Red Bull in the remainder of the season, albeit Motorsport Advisor Dr. Helmut Marko insisted that the team will evaluate its driver line-ups for next season.

Reflecting on his situation after a series of difficult races, Perez said: “I think when you look at it there have been other drivers who have had a similar period of bad races, but it’s not so noticeable.

“I think at Red Bull there is a lot of talk all the time in the media and the scrutiny, and it’s probably worse for the Red Bull drivers, definitely.

“But at the same time right away in my career, I grew up like this. I grew up in those days if I didn’t win a race, I didn’t know if I was going to make the next race.”

Perez insists that he is not intimidated by the immense pressure at all, claiming that he enjoys that as an F1 driver he always needs to deliver.

“So I think I was pretty up already with a lot of pressure in my career so it’s no different thing in Formula One. Formula One drivers, we are really used to this sort of pressure.”

“It’s not easy, it’s obviously tough because you know you are in the spotlight of the sport. But more than the emotions, it’s really hard to get out of them and how you don’t let them turn you down to see them as a potential.”

“There is always an opportunity, that’s the beauty of this sport. You are as good as your last race. So I really working on getting back my season on track and that’s a main priority," concluded the Mexican.