Perez says pressure to perform 'is coming from myself'

Sergio Perez says the pressure to perform at Red Bull isn't coming from his team but rather from himself, but the Mexican is determined to raise his game.

At the end of last year, Red Bull chose to replace Alex Albon for 2021 with Perez, believing the former Racing Point driver and 2020 Sakhir GP winner would form with teammate Max Verstappen a strong line-up capable of taking on the might Mercedes squad.

While Verstappen is giving reigning world champion Lewis Hamilton a run for his money this year, Perez is struggling to race on a par with the Dutchman as he remains at odds with Red Bull's RB16B.

In Spain recently, where Perez qualified 8th and finished P5, 40 seconds adrift from Verstappen, Red Bull team boss Christian Horner said the Milton Keynes-based outfit "desperately needs" Perez to put pressure on Mercedes.

But the Mexican says he is aware of what is expected of him and that any pressure he may feel is self-applied.

• Read also - Perez: 'The truth is that I am delighted with Helmut'

"The team has not put me under any pressure," Perez said in Monaco on Wednesday. "I know what I have to do so they don't have to tell me what to do.

"All the pressure is coming from myself. I really want to deliver to the maximum car potential and where the team is operating at."

Perez foresees improvements in his driving as he continues to build his confidence, while Red Bull's car will also benefit from upcoming developments.

"There's plenty of improvements to come and I've got a lot of room to improve," he added.

"Every weekend I'm definitely learning more about the car. I think Spain was a one off on Saturday so the first three races I think we've been making good progress."

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