Sergio Perez should have been ‘P2 or higher’ in Melbourne according to Ted Kravitz

F1 analyst Ted Kravitz believes Sergio Perez should have been 'P2 or higher' at the 2023 Australian GP. The Mexican driver started the race from the pitlane after the team changed crucial components on his RB19.

Perez had a decent outing in Melbourne, having dropped out of Q1 in qualifying. The Red Bull driver was then faced with the challenge of making his way through the field, albeit with the fastest car on the grid.

Unlike his teammate Max Verstappen, who climbed to P2 from P15 in Jeddah, Perez could only manage to finish fifth.

The former Racing Point driver managed his car well through all the chaos, but Kravitz has expressed his disappointment with the Mexican. The Briton believes Sergio Perez should have easily plowed his way through to P2, or even higher.

Kravitz told Sky Sports F1:

"Sergio Perez pitted twice under the first Safety Car, got the hard tyres out of the way, got boxed in at the start - that was his problem, and then, after that, it was a quieter weekend for Checo."

"He made his way through but it's a missed opportunity - I think after qualifying and after the problems they had on Saturday with the brakes, it is a missed opportunity for Red Bull and Perez - he should have been P2 or higher."

Sergio Perez backed to fight Max Verstappen in title fight

1996 F1 world champion Damon Hill believes that Sergio Perez is preparing to challenge Max Verstappen for the 2023 title. Perez won the race from the pole position at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, finishing ahead of his teammate Verstappen.

Although Max Verstappen experienced some setbacks during the race, such as a driveshaft issue that caused him to start 15th on Sunday, he made a remarkable comeback and finished in second place behind Perez.

However, Perez was unable to make a podium appearance in Melbourne, with his teammate taking the win from the pole position.

Currently, no other team can match the performance of the Anglo-Austrian outfit. Hill thinks that Perez understands the challenge ahead and will not back down from a fight against Verstappen's talent. He said, as quoted by Autosport:

"Checo knows what he's up against but he's not going to go down without a fight. It could be quite interesting. I think the problem that you have is that Max is a bit of a force of nature, and it's how much pressure he can put on the team to make sure his championship aspirations are not interfered with by Checo."

It will be interesting to see which of the two Red Bull drivers comes out on top at the end of the year.