"We have a good direction" - Sergio Perez reflects on a positive first day at 2023 F1 Mexican GP

Sergio Perez is satisfied after the first two practice sessions at the 2023 F1 Mexican GP. Since this is his home race, Checo will be looking forward to performing as well as he can. Practice sessions are extremely important for the driver and the team to gauge the car, the circuit, and the tires.

Speaking to F1 media after the first two practice sessions at the Mexican GP, Sergio Perez explained how he did not have the most straightforward day since his stint on soft tires was plagued by a yellow flag. However, he stated that the team got good reads from the fastest tire.

“We didn’t have a straightforward day; we get a good read of the softs over a single lap. I had a yellow flag on my lap, so I ended up doing it on the second time lap, and not very straightforward,” said Checo.

Later on, he explained that the team still needs to understand quite a lot of aspects of the track and how the car behaves on it. Nonetheless, he is satisfied with the direction his side of the garage is taking and is positive for qualifying and the race.

Sergio Perez concluded:

“Plenty of things to understand, we obviously went with different compounds also to understand them for Sunday. I think overall we are looking in a good position. I think we have a good direction that we need to take.”

Checo has a lot of pressure, especially this weekend since he needs to perform on par with his teammate Max Verstappen, who has been dominating the sport and has already been crowned the world champion of the 2023 season.

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Sergio Perez debunks any off-track rivalry rumors with Max Verstappen

Since there is a massive points gap between Sergio Perez and Max Verstappen, several F1 fans feel that there is an off-track rivalry between the two Red Bull drivers as well. However, Checo himself came out and clarified that there is nothing between the two and how these stories are created by the media.

As quoted by PlanetF1, he said:

“No, not at all. And I think it’s important that we give this message because I think media likes to create this sort of rivalry outside the track and I think we are a great sport. We are a great example for a lot of young generations and we should just be focused on the sport side."

Sergio Perez is currently second in the drivers' championship with 240 points, while Max Verstappen has 466 points.