What compromised Sergio Perez against Max Verstappen at the 2023 F1 Miami GP?

Sergio Perez finished P2 behind his teammate Max Verstappen at the 2023 Miami GP despite having started in the pole position. The Mexican was unable to fend off his teammate Verstappen, who won the race despite having started in P9.

Checo started the race on medium compound tires in an attempt to get a good launch off the line. While the Mexican driver was able to hold the lead for most of the race, his pace compared to his teammate was ultimately the deciding factor of the race.

Max Verstappen was able to extract maximum performance from his hard compound tires. The reigning champion eventually overtook Sergio Perez in the closing stages of the race on fresher medium compound tires.

Speaking to Jenson Button in Parc Ferme after the race, Perez claimed that his poor pace in his initial stint compromised his race.

"I gave it my all. The first stint was poor with the graining, and that compromised our race, as we had too much of a difference on tyres. Well deserved win from [Verstappen]. I think the medium initially was really poor, worse than expected. I need to analyse what went wrong as we had a bad race."

Sergio Perez on his relationship with Max Verstappen

Perez and Verstappen

Sergio Perez stated that he and his teammate Max Verstappen maintain a 'mature' relationship, despite Verstappen's current lead in the drivers' standings. Perez is at second in the current standings.

At the start of 2021, Perez was expected to be a supportive teammate to the Dutch driver. But as time progressed, he became more competitive within the Red Bull team.

Nonetheless, their relationship encountered a hurdle during the 2022 Brazilian GP when Verstappen ignored team instructions, resulting in evident tension within the squad.

After the most recent Miami GP, Sergio Perez now trails Verstappen by 14 points in the standings. Perez contends that there is now significant respect and maturity between the two drivers.

The Mexican said, as quoted by Motorsport.com:

"Inside it is a great atmosphere with the team. There is a very high level of respect between each other in the team, with all the engineers from their side or my side. I think we are both mature enough to know what's right and what's wrong. As long as that keeps being the case, then I don't expect anything to change."

Red Bull is clearly the class of the field at the moment, having won all five races so far this year. However, with the team expecting tougher times ahead due to a wind tunnel testing penalty, it remains to be seen if they can maintain their form.