Lewis Hamilton claims Red Bull has not backed Sergio Perez: "I don't think his team has been massively supportive"

Lewis Hamilton has recently shown tremendous support for Sergio Perez and even claimed that some Red Bull members have not completely backed the Mexican. Perez has struggled in the 2023 F1 season, both on and off the track. Although Red Bull shows full support for him, Hamilton is well aware of how indirect criticism from some team members can affect a driver.

Hamilton initially stated on Fox Sports that he has not been in Sergio Perez's position himself, but he can completely understand how psychologically draining it must be for his colleague. The Brit praised him for carrying himself well through tough times and for having amazing support from his close ones and fans.

"I have never been in the exact position Checo is in, but, as a driver, I understand the psychological or mental pressure are so heavy on you...it's hard to explain and put it in words. I think he's got amazing support around him. I think he has carried himself well," he said.

When it came to support from his team, Hamilton opined that Red Bull has not been too supportive of Perez. Furthermore, he clarified that only a handful of team seniors have been supporting the Mexican driver.

"I don't think his team has been really, massively supportive of him. I don't want to say 'the team' because there are a lot of people in a team, but one of those particular team spokespersons has not been pretty great and helps him psychologically. If I heard Toto talking negatively about me, the race weekends would be really quite tough. So it's a difficult environment for him, but I think he has dealth with it to the best of his abilities," the Brit added.

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Sergio Perez received surprising praise from Red Bull senior

Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko has not always praised and defended Sergio Perez. However, the driver received rare praise from the team's seniors after the 2023 F1 US GP.

Marko, who had been critical of Sergio Perez previously, said on Formel1:

"From ninth on the grid, he achieved the maximum. On the medium, he drove the same lap times as Max. His racing speed was impeccable but overtaking is incredibly difficult here. His performance was satisfactory, with a clear upward trend. His entire performance over the entire weekend was satisfactory."

After starting from P9, the Red Bull driver somehow managed to finish fourth in the US GP, especially after both Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc were disqualified from the race.