Sergio Perez has revealed the mental impact of his on-track performances for Red Bull this season, explaining that he has hired a mental coach to help him process and deal with the highs and lows that life at the front end of F1 presents.
The Mexican driver kicked off his 2023 season with two wins in the opening four rounds, beating team-mate Max Verstappen on the streets of Saudi Arabia and Azerbaijan. These performances sparked hopes of an inter-team title fight and heaped the pressure on Checo.
Unfortunately, Perez couldn’t live up to his billing as a title contender for long. A disappointing showing in Miami allowed Verstappen to come from the midfield to win as Checo’s Dutch team-mate pulled off a sensational ten-race winning streak to effectively decide the championship prior to the summer break.
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Speaking to De Limburger about his struggles, Checo revealed: “Formula One is my sport, my life, my passion. When you are having such a hard time at work, it is difficult to be cheerful at home with your wife and children.
“So I hired a mental coach because my family deserves to have that cheerful father at home. Together with my coach, I worked on becoming the best version of myself at home, but also as a driver. As a result, I found positivity again.
“I am now 33 years old, but I am still learning every day. On the track, but certainly also off it. Partly because of this, I will never get tired of Formula 1. It is really great what this sport still gives me.”
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With six rounds of the 2023 season remaining, Perez sits second in the World Championship, albeit an insurmountable 177 points behind Verstappen at the top of the standings. His fight now lies with Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton.
The seven-time world champion is one of just two drivers (the other being Verstappen) to claim points in every race this season. That incredible consistency means that Hamilton trails Perez by just 33 points heading into the final stretch of races.
Despite this external pressure, the help of Checo’s new mental coach combined with the reassurances from the Red Bull hierarchy that his seat is safe until the end of his contract in 2024 will hopefully allow the 33-year-old to rediscover his mojo, both on the track and at home.
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