"I think mentally that broke him a little bit" - Former Red Bull driver on the race that was 'turning point' for Sergio Perez

Former Red Bull driver Christian Klien mentioned that Max Verstappen mentally broke his teammate Sergio Perez after he passed the Mexican at the Miami GP to win the race.

Perez had a rough season in 2023 despite finishing second in the Drivers' Championship behind his teammate and notching up two wins. He was never able to get around the RB19 and extract the maximum performance like Verstappen, which resulted him in never challenging for the title post the Miami GP.

Speaking with RacingNews365, Klien pointed out that the Miami overtake proved to be pivotal in breaking Sergio Perez's mental resilience, saying:

"Every high level of sport is a mental game as well. I would say Max is one with the car and with the team. That was the difference to Checo. He had a very good start to the season and maybe he had in his mind, ‘OK, maybe this year I can beat Max or at least on the same level’."

"But I think Miami was already the turning point where he realized, ‘OK the guy on the other side of the garage is unbeatable’. I think mentally that broke him a little bit. It took him a long time, maybe until the last couple of races where he got back [on track]. He's not a bad driver and you cannot unlearn how to drive a car fast. But in the end, it’s a mental game," he added.

---

Sergio Perez targets the world championship in 2024 season

After finishing P2 in the standing in 2023, Sergio Perez stated that he was targeting the world championship in the 2024 season.

Speaking with the media, including PlanetF1, the Red Bull driver said that he will look to start next year on a high and perform consistently throughout:

"That’s the main target for me. I’ve already finished second, my main interest is to do one better. I’m aware of the challenge that is. We’ve got to take this winter time to try to start the season on a high and be able to maintain that level of consistency throughout the season."

It would be fascinating to see the changes Sergio Perez would make in his driving and mentality to sustain the challenge of Max Verstappen for an entire season. Hopefully, he will have learned some valuable lessons from his failed title run this year and reflect on improving next season.