Sergio Perez "would be better off making sure he finishes second" behind Max Verstappen, according to Martin Brundle

F1 pundit Martin Brundle feels Sergio Perez would be better off making sure he finishes second behind Max Verstappen at every race. The comment came after a horrendous 2023 F1 Monaco GP for the Mexican where he crashed out of qualifying and hence could not score any points in the race.

As a result, after cutting down the championship lead to single digits in Baku, the Mexican stares at a 39-point deficit to Max Verstappen. Drawing on his own experiences as a driver and racing against the likes of Michael Schumacher, Ayrton Senna, and Mika Hakkinen, Brundle said that Sergio Perez needs to first focus on finishing second in every race.

Talking about the importance of staying consistent and capitalizing on Max Verstappen's mistakes, Brundle said in his post-Monaco GP column for Sky Sports:

“What I learned when I was in direct competition with Ayrton Senna, Michael Schumacher, and Mika Hakkinen - I simply couldn’t match their raw speed and gifted talents. I had to maximize everything that was in my control such as car race set-up, starts, in laps, out laps, traffic management, and so on."

He added:

“Sergio would be better off making sure he finishes second and accepting the genius of Verstappen, and then maximize the days when he delivers his own special magic such as Singapore last year and Baku this season.”

Sergio Perez suffered the most in Monaco: Martin Brundle

Looking back at the weekend and the qualifying session in general, Brundle felt that Sergio Perez suffered the most because of his crash as he now stares at a major deficit in the championship to Max Verstappen. He said:

“The driver who suffered most was last year’s winner and street circuit specialist Sergio Perez. Early into the first part of qualifying he simply arrived too quickly into Saint Devote Turn One and smashed into the outside barrier."

He added:

"He’d likely been a little distracted by an Alpine getting out of his way by diving into the long pit-lane exit, but whatever the reason, it put a huge dent in his Red Bull car and his championship battle with teammate Max Verstappen. He now leads teammate Perez by 39 points, which is approaching the equivalent of a win and a third place in hand.”

Sergio Perez will be hoping to pull a few points back in Barcelona. The Mexican has not had the best of results in the last couple of races and will be hoping to string things together this weekend.