Pérez shifts goal to second place in the championship: "I didn't magically end up in this position"

Sergio Pérez appears to have given up on the title fight with Max Verstappen after the British Grand Prix. The Red Bull Racing driver has had a series of mediocre races, leaving him 99 points behind his teammate, Max Verstappen. Pérez now aims to focus on securing second place in the championship, although his immediate focus remains on the Hungarian Grand Prix where he hopes to regain his positive confidence from the earlier races.

Pérez has some distractions this weekend as he will be hosting the showrun in Madrid. The Red Bull driver is not in his best form and has not made it to Q3 since the Miami Grand Prix. Next weekend the Hungarian Grand Prix is scheduled in Formula One and last season the man from Guadalajara didn't have the best qualifying session there either. He was eliminated in Q2 and had to start from the 11th position. Pérez fought his way back to fifth place in the race while Verstappen won the race.

This scenario seems to repeat itself within the Red Bull team. Pérez faces a comeback race each weekend while Verstappen starts from pole position and wins the race. Nevertheless, Pérez currently holds the second position in the championship. "In Formula 1, only your position in Abu Dhabi matters," says the Mexican driver to AS. "But I didn't magically end up in the second place in the world championship I have won races. I have also had some bad races, but we have plenty of races to go."

After the Saudi Arabian and Azerbaijan Grands Prix, Pérez's confidence was high. He had managed to outperform his teammate based on speed, narrowing the gap to just six points after the race in Baku. However, the gap has now grown to 99 points after the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, making the title seem out of reach for Pérez. "The goal now? Undoubtedly, securing the second place in the championship. Besides that, I'm only thinking about the Hungarian Grand Prix next week."

Pérez: "Everything is much closer"

Due to his recent struggles, several drivers are relatively close to Pérez in the general classification. Now that multiple teams behind Red Bull are competitive, more drivers may start to challenge Pérez's second-place position. "Fernando (Alonso, ed.) is a big surprise this year, Aston Martin has made a big leap, and McLaren as well in the last race. Everything is much closer with these regulations." With Fernando Alonso and Carlos Sainz representing Spain, they have the chance to chase Pérez, but Pérez jokingly remarks, "Hopefully the Mexican finishes ahead," referring to himself.