"I think the pressure will ramp up": Karun Chandhok's verdict on Sergio Perez's position with Red Bull for the 2024 F1 season

F1 pundit Karun Chandhok feels that the 'pressure will ramp up' on Red Bull driver Sergio Perez in the 2024 season.

The Mexican driver finished the 2023 season in P2 in the drivers' championship just behind his teammate Max Verstappen. However, his performances throughout the year were marred with inconsistencies and mistakes as he was unable to match his teammate's dominant results.

While appearing on the Sky Sports F1 podcast, Karun Chandhok claimed that Sergio Perez benefited from the other teams' performance deficit to Red Bull in the 2023 season, saying:

"I think he benefitted from the fact that the opposition was that far behind in terms of pure pace. When we start to see this convergence, we inevitably get with stable rules, I think the pressure will ramp up on that second Red Bull to be outperforming the Ferrari, Mercedes, McLaren, Asto, maybe the Alpine and all these people."

Sergio Perez hails Max Verstappen's 2023 season as the 'best ever in F1'

Sergio Perez stated that he needs to have a better pace and performance in his quest to challenge his teammate in the 2024 season.

While speaking about his goals in the 2024 season, Perez remarked that Verstappen's 2023 title campaign was 'best ever', saying:

"I think we need a better pace, and a very consistent season. I think we went through a bit of a rollercoaster this year. Next year, we have a new opportunity. To be honest, I felt like I was not totally at one with this year's car. I hope that next year we can be a lot better, a lot stronger."

"We came back towards the end of the year. I think the last few races have been a lot stronger for us. We've got to give credit to Max. I think he's done the best season in history and he's been outstanding."

Sergio Perez also added that his 'main target' next year was to win the championship, adding:

"That's the main target. I already finished the second and my main interest is to do one better. I'm aware of the challenge it is. We are going 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."

Hopefully, Sergio Perez will be more competitive in the 2024 season against Max Verstappen and his quest for a world championship does not affect him as it did in the 2023 season.