Sergio Perez says that sitting down with his engineers last winter and addressing one of his main weaknesses at Red Bull has been a big part of his winning form this season.
Last weekend in Baku, Perez drew level with teammate Max Verstappen in terms of the number of wins shared by the Red Bull duo this season – two each – thanks to a flawless drive in which he outpaced the Dutchman.
Perez's sixth career win in F1 has also brought him within just 6 points of Verstappen in the Drivers' championship.
Addressing the solid form he displayed in Baku, but also earlier this season in Jeddah, Perez believes that working last winter with his engineers on his tyre management abilities – a major weakness in 2022 – has markedly improved his performance on Sundays.
"I think one of my weaknesses last year was looking after the tyres," Perez said in Miami on Thursday.
"During the winter, I sat down with my engineers to go through it, because I was pretty disappointed [with last year] - I didn't have good race pace.
"I think we managed to understand a lot of things and we've been much better in that regard this year."
Oddly, tyre management has always been one of Perez's strongest qualities during his career in Formula 1. But that strong attribute has not served him as well at Red Bull as it has in the past.
"When I came to Red Bull, the way you look after the tyres around the team is very different," he said. "So I had to learn a lot on how to look after the tyres in a Red Bull car.
"I think in my first year, I got better towards the end of the year. But, with the regulation change, I was not able to look after them properly.
"I feel now that I'm much better at it. With the understanding of a Red Bull car, I feel much more like a Red Bull driver."
Perez is now in his third season with Red Bull, but he insists that in some respects he's still bedding in with the team.
"There is still more to come, more and more to come in that regard in becoming more of a Red Bull driver, and the way to drive the Red Bull car," he explained.
"I think, once you are really established in a team, and you understand the concept of a car, you are able to extract the maximum. That only comes with time, and the more time you spend with a team, the better.
"But I certainly believe that I made the big steps compared to last year."
Going up against a teammate like Max Verstappen hasn't been easy for Perez due to the Dutchman's remarkable skills and unwavering consistency.
The Mexican admits he's been forced to dig deep, within himself and within his team, to keep step with the two-time world champion.
"I'm mentally very strong," he said. "That's my biggest strength and that has always been.
"It is not easy being Max's team-mate because he's delivering all the time and he's winning all the time. We’ve seen it in the past that it's not easy for a team-mate to survive.
"I believed in myself but I had to go very deep into understanding the whole concept of the car and making sure that I put the right tools in place to be able to fight."
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