Sergio Perez fires warning to Lewis Hamilton and co after ‘worst weekend ever’

Sergio Perez has warned Lewis Hamilton and his teammates after their “worst weekend”.

F1 British Grand Prix

2023 was a difficult year for Sergio Perez

Sergio Perez has warned Lewis Hamilton and other rivals that he will be a stronger driver in 2024 thanks to the lessons learned from a difficult 2023 season. Despite having a dominant car at his disposal, the Red Bull driver was unable to win none of the last 18 races of the season, but recovered his form in the last three grands prix of the year. The Mexican started the season with two wins in four rounds and topped the table when F1 visited Miami. However, Perez dominated Verstappen the next day as his Red Bull team-mate secured his 10th consecutive win, cementing his claim as the team’s true No.1 driver. While Verstappen took a solid lead in the Drivers’ Championship, Perez had to battle Lewis Hamilton for second place. The 33-year-old Red Bull finished 1-2 in the final round but was 290 points behind his team-mate in the standings after taking the checkered flag in Abu Dhabi. Despite this setback, Perez believes his fight will serve him well in 2024. “I know last year,” he explained. “I think we learned a lot and I’m glad we were able to turn the season around, come back stronger and make the most of those bad days.”

Perez was keen to stress the importance of the Qatar Grand Prix in turning his season around. It was the lowest score for the Red Bull star, who finished 10th in the Grand Prix due to road restrictions after crashing in the Q1 sprint after contact with Nico Hulkenberg and Esteban Ocon. “This year was a gap. After Qatar we really came together and understood a lot about the car,” he said. “So I think it was a really good thing for us. I mean, it’s a shame that it happened, but in some ways it was a very good thing because it strengthened our team a lot.