Perez makes Red Bull demand to end uncomfortable feeling

Sergio Perez has called on Red Bull to take a different approach over the coming races between himself and Max Verstappen in a bid to get on top of his discomfort with the RB18.

After winning the seventh race of the year in Monaco, Perez had closed to within 15 points of his Red Bull team-mate in the hunt for this year's F1 title.

A further seven races later and Perez is now 93 adrift. It is understood he has not felt as comfortable with the car since a major upgrade package was introduced at the British Grand Prix, even though he finished second at Silverstone.

In Sunday's race in Belgium, Perez started second on the grid compared to 14th for Verstappen, yet finished 17 seconds adrift of the race-winning Dutch driver.

Perez would now appreciate the team taking different set-up routes between himself and Verstappen, starting with this weekend's Dutch GP.

Assessing the situation, Perez said: "Well, certainly the car has become quicker from the beginning of the season, but I'm not as comfortable as I was in the beginning of the season.

"It's something that I need to work on, on my side to make sure we are able to get the maximum out of the car.

"Sometimes things become more natural for you to get the most out of your car, and sometimes you have to work really hard and go very deep in the analysis to make sure you are able to extract the maximum.

"It seems that we are in that window at the moment.

"I really hope from this weekend, we run the cars slightly different, so we are able to spot some differences that can bring some performance on our side."

As for his thoughts on the championship and whether he would play the team game given Ferrari's Charles Leclerc is Verstappen's most realistic challenger, 98 points adrift, Perez skirted the question.

"There are still eight races to go, so anything can really happen," added Perez. "We will try to maximise.

"The constructors' [championship] is very important for us as well. Right now we are in a great position, but things can change fairly quickly.

"So, as a team, we want to maximise everything we possibly can, every weekend."

Related

Max Verstappen

Verstappen Red Bull replacement favourite NAMED

• December 23, 2024 19:28

F1 Today

F1 News Today: Red Bull BOMBSHELL emerges as Perez drive confirmed

• December 22, 2024 15:57