What had started as the most hopeful season has turned into a bundle of doubts. Checo Pérez started his 13th year in Formula 1 with a turbo. He fought, with high tension, against Verstappen in the first five races. On the prestigious Monaco circuit, dreams of seeing a Mexican fight for the title were slammed against the wall. A strong clash in qualifying deprived the Mexican of continuing his battle with the now three-time world champion. He also lost confidence, car and stability.
“It has been the most complicated season at Red Bull. I started fighting for the championship and it’s not easy. People will never understand what it’s like to drive a car at more than 300 kilometers per hour and not feel comfortable, not knowing what the car will do in a curve. Only the pilot feels it. We had a great car, but a car that was increasingly difficult for me to get the most out of with adjustments. That made it a season of ups and downs, inconsistent. It is the most difficult season mentally. I always had doubts about the car,” Pérez admitted this Wednesday at a press conference.
The Slim family, one of the richest families in the world and patrons of the Mexican pilot, sheltered him in their facilities in Plaza Carso, in the commercial district of the Mexican capital. Pérez was supported by an army of fans and thousands of publicity images in honor of the athlete of the moment. The Mexican Grand Prix, which begins this Friday, has become a week of absolute hustle and bustle for the Mexican driver who must meet commercial commitments with his partners. The Mexican’s face was one of a smile overwhelmed by the day’s agenda that included a press conference, a soccer game, another press conference and a party in honor of his tequila brand.
“It is, without a doubt, a complicated weekend. It is the weekend that I have the most load. I have many Mexican sponsors, it is difficult to keep track. “It’s an intense day,” said the Mexican. Between the screams of their czechivers, Pérez took a moment to reflect on his performance and the pressure at Red Bull: “For me the important thing is to focus on what I can control. In the end, the team knows where I stand, at my level as a driver, what I can give. “My energy is in what I can change.” The Mexican’s expectations are, first of all, to finish among the first five places. Talking about a podium would be the best result.
Pérez has two victories (Saudi Arabia and Azerbaijan), four second places (Bahrain, Miami, Belgium and Italy) and two third places (Austria and Hungary). These are very valuable results that have led him to be in second place overall. However, he has been inconsistent in the last three races. At one point in the season, after what happened in Monaco, he couldn’t make the cut in the qualifying rounds. At Red Bull they did not understand how he could be eliminated and suffer with the best car on the grid. Pérez, as he has admitted on several occasions, has not been able to adapt to the car whose main priority is Max Verstappen, the central axis of the Austrian team.
Given the Mexican’s hesitations at Red Bull, rumors about a dismissal, retirement and a wave of criticism were unleashed. The ones that resonated the most were those of the team’s advisor, Helmut Marko, who raised the tone by calling him “lazy” for being “South American.” “They will always speak, good or bad, the important thing is that you make yourself noticed. Few pilots generate that. At the end of the day it is part of the emotions that pilots generate towards their countries, their people. “This will pass and we will be left with the good memories of this,” said the Mexican.
“After Qatar [donde terminó décimo], we were working very hard in the factory for many days with the engineers. In Austin we couldn’t show it,” he commented. Checo Pérez wants to get the stone off his back and celebrate with champagne on the podium again. Doing it in Mexico would be his greatest consolation.
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