“We'll see my best form in next races”: Sergio Perez poised to finish 2023 F1 season on a strong note after another dominating Red Bull outing

Sergio Perez returned to the podium during F1's visit to Monza in the Italian GP, where his teammate Max Verstappen secured his 10th consecutive victory. The Red Bull drivers secured a 1-2 finish for the team in front of the Tifosi.

Starting fifth on the grid for the Italian GP, Perez had to clear two Ferraris if he had to stand on the podium. It was no easy task as even Verstappen found it tricky to overtake the SF-23, which boasted a higher top speed.

As the race progressed, the Mexican driver's perseverance paid off as he successfully overtook both the SF-23s on his way to his eighth podium finish this season. During the post-race interview, he revealed that he felt more comfortable with the car this weekend and expects to build on the momentum in the coming races.

"I think we have done a lot of progress on the setup side," he said to Nico Rosberg in the parc ferme interview. "I am feeling a lot more comfortable in the car, so I do expect that we'll see my best form in the next races."

After a rather disappointing end to last weekend's race at Zandvoort, the podium finish at the Italian GP will provide some stability to Sergio Perez's rather wayward 2023 season.

Wrapping up his weekend at Monza, Perez will be heading to the Singapore GP scheduled on September 17. The next round will provide another confidence boost as he returns to a street track where he won last year.

With eight podiums including his two wins so far in the season, Perez is currently 145 points behind his teammate Max Verstappen, who is running away with the championship.

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Sergio Perez describes his battle with the Ferraris in the Italian GP

Securing a 1-2 finish was a tall ask for Red Bull as the Ferrari drivers had better straight-line speed. Max Verstappen only had Carlos Sainz ahead of him while Sergio Perez had to overtake Charles Leclerc too.

Charles Leclerc ahead of Sergio Perez

The Ferrari duo of Leclerc and Sainz proved to be a stern obstacle as he made several unsuccessful attempts to overtake them.

"It think it was basically the maximum we could have achieved today," Perez said post race. "It was so difficult to overtake today. A lot harder than we really thought. I think we were lacking some straight-line speed. We were having some great exits through Parabolica but still, it was not enough...

"To get through Charles and then Carlos - I had to use all of my tyres. I really thought at times, especially at the beginning... In the end, we managed to get both of them."

Sergio Perez managed to dispatch both of them in the end as they struggled for tires, to take the checkered flag six seconds behind teammate Verstappen.