F1 News
Perez comments on his critics once again: 'They will never go away'
2024 has been a season to forget so far for Sergio Perez. It should have been one of celebration for the Mexican after his contract at Red Bull was extended for another two years. However, poor pace and basic mistakes have hampered his season, meaning he has not made it out of Q1 in four out of the last six races. It has resulted in a lot of criticism about whether Perez deserves to be driving for the Austrian team after 2024, and there have been many rumours suggesting that he won't as a result of his performances.
Perez "focussed" on returning to form after Hungary recovery
Qualifying at the Hungarian Grand Prix was yet another mistake that could be added to the list for Perez this season, with a crash in Q1 ending his session in an instant and meant, once again, he was eliminated in the first session, qualifying in P16. However, a fantastic recovery drive saw the Mexican fight he way through the field and limit the damage from qualifying to take P7, showing that he still can show quality behind the wheel of the RB20.
However, the Mexican does not believe the noise from his critics will stop despite a positive performance, commenting on them once again to several media courses, including GPblog: "I don't think they [the critics] will go off. But the noise is completely shut down from my side. I'm fully focused on myself, on maximising my own performance to work with the team, and at the end of the day, the only thing that matters to me is my boys, my people working with me, so I just have to give my very best to them because they deserve it.
"Like I say, I think the most positive is that the pace is there, not like a few weekends ago where we were lacking the pace. I think that's the most positive," continued Perez, who will be looking to continue to show that pace when the F1 circus enters Spa-Francorchamps for the Belgian Grand Prix.
The Red Bull driver knows he needs to continue to improve and find his way back to the front of the grid, and he is looking forward to the challenge that Spa will bring this weekend: "I think it's going to be an interesting battle. It's going to be a very tough race up there, so I am looking forward massively to it. Again, it's going to be a very different weekend, so I'm looking forward."