Pérez is not giving up the fight for the title. Anything can happen, says the Mexican

Sergio Pérez is having a much better season than last year. After thirteen races he has one win, one pole position and five second places. With 173 points, he is third in the championship, 85 points behind Max Verstappen.

The thirty-two-year-old driver has entered the season with a very strong performance. He has finished on the podium in five of the first eight races.

But after the VC of Azerbaijan, the turning point came. Pérez did not finish two races, the VC of Canada for technical reasons and the VC of Austria after problems caused by a collision with George Russell on the first lap.

That left him with 44 points from the last five races, while his teammate scored 108 points.

“Nothing has been decided yet. Ferrari was a little bit faster than us in the last few races, so we have to keep trying, anything can happen,” the Mexican told Formula 1.

Asked if he wanted to help Verstappen win a second world title or, conversely, try to take it from him, Pérez had a clear answer. To close the gap on the Dutchman and fight back.

Pérez is convinced that his huge loss to Verstappen is not due to his performance, but to his unfinished races. The Mexican has missed three races this year, his teammate two. “Without them (the unfinished races – ed.) the championship would look completely different.”

“It was a good first half of the season, good race pace, good results, consistent performances. So I think the championship is still open,” Pérez said of his performance.

There are nine races left in the season. It is not statistically impossible to make up a deficit of more than eighty points, although it is very unlikely. The biggest comeback in F1 history was made in 2012 by Sebastian Vettel, who overcame a deficit of “only” 39 points.

Sources