Sergio Perez tipped to challenge Max Verstappen in Austria by F1 pundit

F1 pundit Peter Windsor believes Sergio Perez will have a good race in the upcoming 2023 F1 Austrian GP.

Perez has been unable to perform well in the last couple of races, both in qualifying and in the main race. Meanwhile, his teammate, Max Verstappen, has consistently won most of the races this year and has extended his lead in the title battle.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, Windsor felt that Austria would bring better fortunes for the Mexican. He stated how the track layout will suit Perez and allow him to follow Verstappen more closely. Windsor also said that given Checo's skills at accelerating and managing tires, the Red Bull Ring could work in his favor given the fewer corners and a comparatively simple layout. He said:

"I think form can be a bit of a misleading thing because, in my opinion, Perez will be very near Max in Austria. It's not a very difficult circuit and there are a couple of places where his major talent, which is just putting the power down beautifully and managing the tires as he does so and really good feel for traction, will come into play in Austria, out of turn one, out of turn two, not three, a little bit out of the last corner as well."

Windsor claimed that Sergio Perez has a good chance of having a great race in Austria next weekend, saying:

"So actually, I think Perez will be quite near and it's a very short lap anyway, not many corners so I mean, I would go the opposite way and say Perez is actually due for quite a good race in Austria. That would be my take on that."

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Red Bull team boss urges Sergio Perez to solely focus on racing after relief from title pressure

Max Verstappen further extended his lead in the championship with a confident in the Spanish Grand Prix, while Sergio Perez only managed to finish fourth. Although Perez will be trying everything to bounce back, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner feels that it is better for Checo to be relieved of the pressure of being in a title battle. Horner stated that it might be better for the Mexican to solely focus on improving his racing and not worry about anything else. While speaking to Sky F1, the Brit said:

“I think if you look at the points now there’s a big split between the two of them, and I think if anything, that should take pressure off him."

Horner added:

“He has nothing to lose now and I think he just needs to relax, he can breathe out and just drive like we know he’s capable of, like he did in Azerbaijan and some of the early races this year. And I think today was a good recovery from him and I think that’ll give him confidence as we head to Montreal.”

Sergio Perez's struggles continued after the Spanish GP, only managing to finish sixth in Montreal after a horrendous qualifying session where he was knocked out in Q2.