Lewis Hamilton says that Sergio Perez’s form in the final races of 2023 will decide the runner-up spot in F1’s Drivers’ championship, as the Red Bull charger still has the fastest car on the grid.
Hamilton outscored Perez by a massive 19 points in last Sunday’s Mexican Grand Prix, courtesy of the Red Bull driver’s over-optimistic move at the first corner that ended in disaster for the local hero.
Hamilton has now moved within 20 points of his rival in the standings, but that gap could have been even smaller without the Mercedes driver’s exclusion from the results of the previous race in Austin where the Briton finished P2 on the road.
While Mercedes’ performance has drawn closer to Red Bull, the Brackley squad’s car is still no match for the bulls’ RB19 which has won all races this season, save for last September’s Singapore Grand Prix which was won by Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz.
However, while defeating Verstappen on merit is a tall order, Perez’ inability to perform on a par with his teammate has left him exposed to his rivals, and especially Hamilton.
“It’s mostly dependent on Checo’s weekends really,” Hamilton said last weekend in Mexico. “They have the championship-winning car. He’s just been unfortunate, I think, in some scenarios.
“Obviously I’ve lost quite a lot of points in the last two races but he lost points today. So it’s swings and roundabouts.
“I think coming into the weekend, having lost points last week, I didn’t think I would really be in shooting range particularly but after today, yeah, we’ll just give it our best shot.”
Hamilton acknowledged that finishing his F1 season second in the championship carries little significance. However, helping Mercedes seal P2 in the Constructors’ standings is more important.
“Honestly, it’s not going to make a big difference to my life, whether I come second or third,” he said.
“It’s more important to get the team second in the Constructors and so that’s what I’m focused on. It’s a bonus if we get second in the Drivers.”
Hamilton reckons that Mercedes’ progress of late bodes well for its chances of enjoying a competitive weekend in Brazil, the scene of the team’s last win in F1.
“It definitely gives us a lot of confidence,” said the seven-time F1 world champio
“I mean, last year, at the same time, we were doing the same thing, but last year, I think we were three-tenths behind Max in quali – or something like that, and I came second again but he walked off with it.
“So, we’re really just mirroring what we did last year.”
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