Red Bull team boss Christian Horner and Max Verstappen have defended Sergio Perez’s attempted move at Turn 1 on the first lap that sent him out of the Mexico City Grand Prix.

Starting third and fifth, both Red Bulls got away excellently from the grid enabling Verstappen to slice in between the Ferraris and Perez to utilise the slipstream ahead.

As Verstappen positioned his car to the inside to gain the high ground, Perez swung to the outside of polesitter Charles Leclerc to make it three abreast into the first turn.

But the Ferrari driver was caught in between the two Red Bulls, resulting in contact that sent Perez momentarily into the air and damage that brought his race to an end.

After Perez conceded that his approach was centred on gunning for victory, Horner believes that “you can’t blame” the Mexican for trying to seize the lead at his home event.

“Yeah, absolutely two contrasting emotions,” Horner said. “One absolutely gutted to see Checo go out on the first corner. He had probably his best start of the season, got the draft and the tow from the three cars ahead, and so arrived with massive overspeed.

“And you can’t blame him at his home race, going to try and take the lead of the grand prix. I think you have to call it a racing incident, because three into one doesn’t go. Charles couldn’t get out of it, he braked late.

“So yeah, frustrating for Checo and really disappointing for his fans to lose him at the first corner. And the guys did their best to get him back out. But there was just too much damage to the floor and the underbody of the car. Charles is in a bit of a Red Bull sandwich.”

Horner added: “It’s a tough moment for him. It’s in front of his home crowd, he’s very emotional. And yeah, just said to him, next race next week, you’re going for the lead in your home race, you wouldn’t be a racing driver if you weren’t going for it.”

Although Verstappen insists that Perez potentially could have afforded more room on the outside, the Dutchman has also sympathised with his team-mate’s situation.

“I understand [the move] because it’s his home Grand Prix,” he noted. “You want to be on the podium, I fully understand that he went around the outside and he tried.  

“Looking, of course, at the footage, I think he could have left a little bit more space but on the other hand if it would have worked, you look amazing. I think it’s just more that excitement of wanting to be on the podium and this time it didn’t work out, unfortunately.”

Verstappen admits that it was only until he saw the footage in the cooldown room post-race that he understood the chaos that had materialised to his left at the first turn.

“At the time, I didn’t really see a lot,” he professed. “At one point, I just saw that a car was a bit flying in the air, but then I saw the footage after the race and then you can comment on it.

“But while driving it’s a bit hard because I was mainly focusing on Charles, because I couldn’t see what was happening on the outside.”

Verstappen eventually survived a mid-race red flag restart to notch a record-breaking 16th win of 2023 by a comfortable 13.8s margin over Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton.

Horner is convinced that Perez would have accompanied his team-mate on the podium without the extensive damage that prevented Red Bull from returning him to the track.

“I think he would have been on the podium for sure today,” Horner relayed. “That was never in doubt. It’s a big loss for him today here with obviously a car that was capable of being on the podium.”

Charles Leclerc insists he “had nowhere to go” in the opening corner clash that sent Sergio Perez out of the Mexico City Grand Prix.

Starting from pole position, Leclerc endured a sluggish getaway from the line and was immediately swarmed by Max Verstappen, who cut in between the two Ferrari drivers.

Behind them, Perez had also made a good launch and utilised the slipstream to position his car to the left of Leclerc into Turn 1 in an attempt to sweep right around the outside.

However, Leclerc ended up getting pinched between the two Red Bulls, resulting in the Ferrari driver making contact with Perez’s RB19 and sending it momentarily into the air.

Although Perez was able to nurse his car back to the pits, Red Bull elected to retire the Mexican after inspecting the damage, bringing a premature end to his race.

Leclerc would eventually battle through to claim third but was booed heavily post-race by the hoards of Mexican fans present at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.

The Monegasque driver defended his involvement in the incident to the local fans, citing that he was unable to do anything to prevent the touch that sent Perez out.

“A lot of booing…guys,” he said. “I mean, honestly, I had nowhere to go. I was a bit in between the two Red Bulls and, unfortunately, I touched Checo, but I had nowhere to go. So, it’s life.

“It damaged my car. And unfortunately, it ended the race of Checo, but on our end, we maximised our race.

“Of course, I’m disappointed to end the race of Checo like that, but I really didn’t do it on purpose. I had nowhere to go.”

Despite having picked up minor wing damage, Leclerc had extended his opening stint to be running a comfortable second until the race was stopped on Lap 33.

Kevin Magnussen suffered a rear suspension failure that pitched his Haas car into a high-speed impact with the barrier at Turn 9, prompting the red flag to be displayed.

Leclerc, running the Hard tyre, was able to resist Lewis Hamilton on the restart but was powerless to defend from the Mercedes on Mediums, succumbing on Lap 40.

“We struggled a little bit with the Hard after the restart,” Leclerc conceded. “Lewis was really quick on the Medium and then they managed to have a really good degradation, so they were just better today and it’s life.”

Sergio Perez’s Mexico City Grand Prix came to an abrupt end after contact on the opening lap with Charles Leclerc at the first corner when he “risked it all for the win”.

From fifth on the grid, Perez found himself jostling for the lead of the race with team-mate Max Verstappen and polesitter Charles Leclerc on the approach to Turn 1.

Perez sought a way around the outside of the Ferrari but the move backfired as he attempted to maintain control of the race at the earliest available opportunity.

Leclerc found himself pinched in between both Red Bulls as the trio reached the braking zone three-abreast, resulting in inevitable contact that launched Perez into the air.

Perez was able to limp back to the pits, but the severity of the damage sustained to the sidepods, floor and rear suspension was such that time was called on his race.

Asked whether he could have afforded Leclerc more space in the race-ending move, the 33-year-old argued: “Definitely yes. But I was not expecting Charles to brake that late.

“I was already ahead of him and he was in the middle, so there’s a lot less room to manoeuvre.

“Once you’re committed to the braking zone at those speeds, it’s just too late. With these wide cars, three cars into Turn 1, it’s not going to end up well.

“But if you decide to take a risk, I decided to take it, and I paid the price.”

Asked whether he would make the same move again, the Red Bull driver simply stated: “Yes, I would.”

Perez had high hopes entering his home race and had aimed to deliver a memorable performance for the tens of thousands of compatriots in attendance.

Instead, he was left reeling one of the ‘saddest’ days in his entire motorsport career.

“I’ve had some really sad moments in my career, but certainly this is as a race, the saddest one, because of the end result,” he conceded. “But at the end of the day, this is just racing. I go home very sad, but I also go very proud of my time or myself.

“We gave it all. I knew that today, a podium was not enough for me, and I really wanted to go for the win. I saw the gap and I went for it.

“It’s a weekend where I risked it all to go for the win. The pace was there. But it just didn’t happen. This is just how racing is.

“I’ve been here long enough to understand that. You have days like this. What makes me feel proud is that I gave it all. And that’s it.”

During a red flag triggered by a sizeable accident for Haas driver Kevin Magnussen at half distance, it was noted that many fans in attendance appeared to leave the circuit early.

With expectations high for Perez’s return, the Mexican denied that he felt he had let those in the grandstands down: “I felt to be honest I would have let them down more if I didn’t go for it.

“If I’m honest. I saw the gap and I went for it. I decided to take a risk, I knew it was going to be very risky, and I ended up paying the price. Yeah. Risk, reward, it was pretty high risk to take, but it was worth taking it.”

Sergio Perez believes that a strategy call during qualifying for the Mexico City Grand Prix “really hurt” the Red Bull driver’s hopes of pole position on home soil.

Perez was 0.257s off the benchmark set by Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc as the Scuderia claimed a surprising front-row lock out at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.

Meanwhile, Red Bull team-mate Max Verstappen qualified third, 0.097s slower than Leclerc.

The Mexican will start his home race from fifth on the grid, but behind the AlphaTauri of Daniel Ricciardo, who will line up fourth.

While Perez said he was not necessarily shocked to see Ricciardo put on such a strong performance, he believes the outcome of Saturday’s qualifying session would have been vastly different if he had managed to avoid using an extra set of tyres in Q2.

Asked whether he was expecting AlphaTauri to split the two Red Bulls, Perez said: “Yes, and the Ferrari as well, but it is what it is.

“Our progression in Q3 wasn’t great, we ended up losing one set that potentially we didn’t need to, but, obviously, you only know that after qualifying.

“I think that really hurt us in the progression we had in Q3, when you are talking about one tenth and a half or two tenths, that would have changed our life completely, so this is the way it is.”

“Daniel did a tremendous lap,” the 33-year-old said when pressed on whether the Australian’s achievement added further pressure on his future with reigning champions Red Bull.

“I don’t think it’s just Daniel who wants my seat. Let’s say there is a lot of other drivers that want to be in that seat, and it’s great. If it’s what they deserve then [I’m] happy for them.  

Since the Singapore Grand Prix, Perez has recorded a string of poor race results, starkly contrasting with Verstappen’s indomitable form in 2023.

However, Perez regards a fourth-place finish in Austin last weekend as positive progress and is expecting to build on that result this weekend despite his qualifying troubles.

“Yes, we already made the progress in Austin, we are also making progress here, so I think we are on a good level with the car,” he noted.

“But today was very difficult. Every single set of tyres I had today performed differently, so it’s a track that is difficult to get the most out of it. 

“I don’t want to go too much into detail but certainly I’ll say that we got lost on a few weekends with the set-up and we took a reset and I think for us, it’s looking better.

“[We are] starting set-ups a lot closer and just diverging through the weekend on things that we want to achieve differently.”

Looking to improve on his previous best result of third at the Mexico City venue (2021, 2022), the Red Bull driver is expecting this afternoon’s race to prove a challenge.

“It’s going to be very tricky tomorrow but there is a long race ahead,” he added. “I will try to pull something special for tomorrow and see what happens.

“I will try [to win]. It’s a track that’s difficult to overtake but we will try to make progress early on.”

Lewis Hamilton has criticised one Red Bull employee for not being “supportive” of Sergio Perez, believing it has contributed to a “difficult environment” for him.

Perez has been winless since triumphing in two of the first four races, dropping a huge 226 points behind Red Bull team-mate Max Verstappen, who has notched 15 victories.

The Mexican’s alarming slump has evoked repeated speculation about his future beyond the end of 2023, despite Perez retaining a contract with Red Bull next year.

Hamilton suspects that Perez has been unable to escape his ongoing rut due to not receiving complete support from every individual within the Red Bull camp.

Although the Briton failed to list a name, Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko received an official warning from the FIA last month for attributing Perez’s form to his ethnicity.

“As a driver I understand the psychological and mental pressures weigh so heavily on you, it’s hard to explain and to put into words,” Hamilton told Fox Sports. 

“I think he has amazing support around him and I think he’s carried himself really well. 

“I don’t think his team has been massively supportive of him, I wouldn’t say team, because there’s a lot of people, but one particular spokesperson has not been great in helping psychologically. 

“If I heard Toto [Wolff, Mercedes team boss] talking negatively about me on the weekends, it would be quite tough. It’s a difficult environment for him, but I think he’s dealt with it to the best of his ability. 

“I was so excited for him at the beginning of the year because he was driving so well. At one point I think he was in the lead of the championship and I was like ‘ah shoot, we finally got the best of Checo’. 

“But it’s a really long year, a really long season. It’s the most demanding sport I think that there is.”

Hamilton has commended Perez’s determination and is optimistic that the support of his home crowd in Mexico this weekend will provide a timely boost.

“The best thing about Checo is that he keeps getting up and trying,” he continued. “One thing for sure is that Mexico is going to show up for him this weekend. When I am at Silverstone, it gives you an extra bit of time. So I have no doubt he’ll have that.” 

Prior to the United States Grand Prix, Hamilton had taken advantage of Perez only accruing five points in three rounds to close to within 30 points of the Red Bull driver.

Whilst he reduced that further by finishing second in Austin last Sunday, Hamilton was subsequently disqualified from the grand prix because of a technical infringement.

Despite Mercedes being in contention for the on-track victory at the Circuit of the Americas, Hamilton admits it’s “unlikely” he can beat Perez to the runners-up spot.

“I think it’s unlikely, but I’ll give it my best shot,” he said regarding the 39 points that separate him and Perez in the standings.

“At the end of the day it doesn’t make any difference. Second or third [in the Drivers’ standings], it’s not first. Getting the team second is more the goal. That matters more.

“I think we are on a good trajectory but there are only four races which means Checo has to have four more really bad races basically, which is unlikely.”

Red Bull has organised bodyguards to shadow Max Verstappen during the Mexican Grand Prix weekend amid security concerns in the country’s capital.

Claiming a record-equalling 15th win of the season, Verstappen was booed when he took to the top step of the podium in Austin before chants of “Checo” [nickname of Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez] could be heard around the Circuit of the Americas.

In response to the perceived hostility towards the three-time champion, Verstappen will be shadowed by two bodyguards in the Mexico City paddock.

Despite the extra measures taken by the team, Verstappen holds no concerns going into the race weekend.

“Yeah, I have a bit more security here, but there are always a few countries around the world where it’s very busy, also here in the paddock,” he said.

In 2022, overcrowding at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez led to security issues with several drivers harried and accosted when moving between the paddock and garages. The promoters of the event have made changes ahead of this weekend in an effort to minimise any risks for drivers.

“Last year, it was really, really busy to get from your hospitality to your garage. It just helps to make it all a bit smoother on-track, off-track, travelling from your hotel and stuff like that.

“[We will do it] whenever we think it’s just helping the general flow of the weekend.

“I feel very safe. [Wednesday] I had a whole marketing day, and it’s been honestly a great reception here like I always had. It’s good to be back.”

Promoters of the Mexican Grand Prix are leading a ‘Racepect’ campaign aimed at promoting tolerance and respect to all those involved in the race weekend in response to “a growing number of incidents that have ranged from spectators booing drivers to discriminatory comments”.

Home hero Perez has also joined calls for respect, asking Mexican fans to “support the whole Red Bull Racing Team, not just me.”

Picking up just two of Red Bull’s 17 grand prix victories in 2023, Perez will be hoping to put on a performance in front of the home fans as he is yet to shake pressure and questions concerning his future with the team.

Verstappen, who has spent the vast majority of the season unrivalled, denied claims of ‘made up’ tension between Perez and himself.

“Checo and I, we get on really well. For us, I don’t think there is any rivalry,” Verstappen contended.

“Of course as a driver on-track, you always like to be first or to be faster. I think we have a lot of respect for each other, and we appreciate each other’s performances. I think it’s a good thing that it maybe starts here now. It’s not only here.

“In general, I think the behaviour of the crowd in some places I think can be a bit better. For example in Austin maybe it was a bit [to do with me?] but in general, I think the behaviour of supporting your favourite driver is fine, but then I think you also have to respect the competition.

“But this is not only in our sport. It’s a general problem in a lot of sports that I think needs to be looked at, and needs to be improved.

“Luckily, I don’t spend a lot of time on social media because it’s quite a toxic place. People who don’t need to show their face or whatever, they can say whatever they want. And again, this is not only in our sport, it’s in a lot of different sports, the same problem, or in general.

“I think it needs to be much better regulated what can be said and done, and written to people in general.

“I stay neutral in everything – In winning, in losing, in these kind of scenarios, I think for me that definitely works the best.

“I’m there to win, I’m there to perform, and as long as I can look at myself that I did the best I could and I’m there standing with the trophy, then that’s it for me. That’s what’s most important for me at the end of the weekend.”

Formula 1 descends on Mexico this weekend for the second part of the Americas triple header, and the focus will be on one man more than most: home hero Sergio Perez.

The Red Bull driver has had, in all fairness, a season to forget.

Whilst he remains on course for his best-ever championship finish in F1, second place won’t feel like much consolation given the way 2023 has unfolded for him.

Up against Max Verstappen, the fight was always going to be hard this year in trying to win the championship but having seen form largely desert him since the opening races of the year, this has been a season where speculation has mounted considerably over Perez’s very future in the sport.

A number of claims have been floating around the Mexican, to varying levels of plausibility.

Perhaps two of the most eye-catching, though, have been that he a) could be replaced by Red Bull at the end of the year if he does not finish in second in the championship or b) he could announce his retirement from the sport at his home race this very weekend.

Both, it must be said, have been dismissed categorically by team and driver respectively.

“It’s not something that we have discussed or even contemplated,” said Red Bull chief Christian Horner recently.

“Checo is our driver and we want to support him in the best way that we can.

“We believe that he can achieve that second place in the championship but he is up against tough competitors with a lot of racing still to go.

“We selected Checo in the first place because of his experience and his ability to be able to deal with pressure.

“He did a lot for us in ’21 and ’22, contributing to the constructors’ championship last year and this year with the victories he has achieved.

“We know what he is capable of and we haven’t seen that for the last couple of races. We want to support him to make sure he gets back to that early-season form. 

“It’s a tough season and tough being Max’s team-mate – we mustn’t forget the challenge that is mentally.

“We know what Checo is capable of and we know that qualifying tends to be his weakness, but when racing he comes alive on a Sunday afternoon. He’s demonstrated that time and time again. We have six one-two finishes this year, he’s won two Grands Prix and he’s still second in the world championship 30 points ahead of Lewis Hamilton. It’s not all been bad!”

Meanwhile, Perez has said: “I’m just laughing at [the speculation.]

“There’s nothing I can do [to stop the spread of the rumours].

“I’m fully focused on my job, but it really sums up my season – a guy says something about me and then all of a sudden it becomes true.

“I have a contract for next year. I have no reason not to fulfil that contract.

“I’m going to give my very best to it. I’ve made a commitment. But more than that, it will not be my final contract in F1.”

Perez’s deal runs to the end of 2024, and it sounds as though he won’t be finished with F1 come that point, even if Red Bull potentially are done with him.

He may well get another year with the team next season to try and extend things further, though.

Whilst Red Bull want two strong drivers next year for a Constructors’ fight next season that is expected to be far closer than that of ’22 and ’23, who they actually could get to replace Perez is hard to say.

Lando Norris has obviously been heavily linked, and there has been interest from Red Bull, but the Briton is happy to stick with McLaren for the rest of his own contract with the team at least, thanks in part to the fine improvement the team has enjoyed over the course of this season.

Yuki Tsunoda and Liam Lawson would be the next pair in line to be promoted from within, but neither seems quite ready for the job. Daniel Ricciardo has the personal clout to go up against Verstappen and represent Red Bull once more, but where is he actually as a driver at the moment? His recent hiatus thanks to a wrist injury hasn’t helped solve matters there.

Indeed, it seems right now that Perez could be on course for at least one more year with Red Bull next season – he will hope that the home crowd urging him on this weekend can kickstart both a strong finish to 2023 and perhaps one last hurrah in 2024.

Sergio Perez has opened up on the tremendous struggle he has encountered to get on top of Red Bull’s 2023 Formula 1 car.

Perez has failed to triumph since winning two of the opening four races, dropping a huge 230 points behind Red Bull team-mate Max Verstappen, who has taken 15 victories.

The Mexican’s troubles have been compounded by failing to progress to Q3 in qualifying eight times, leaving him with too much ground to recover come race day.

Following a disastrous outing in Qatar, Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner issued that the team would need to “sit down” with Perez to get his season back on track.

Expanding on that weekend, Perez conceded that he got “really lost” on the set-up side, which has been a recurring theme that has prevented him from stemming his slump.

“Basically it was important for us to understand where it went so wrong,” he addressed last Thursday ahead of the United States Grand Prix race weekend.

“And once you go into these fast weekends, for example with the Sprint event in Qatar, if you don’t have a good set-up, you can easily get lost. And it’s what happened to us. We just got really lost in Qatar.  But this is how this sport is: you have a good weekend, a bad weekend. We haven’t really been able to get consistency through the year.”

Prior to the US GP, where Perez revealed he had made “good progress”, the Red Bull driver had only accumulated five points across the previous three race weekends.

The 33-year-old attributed the large deficit that existed to Verstappen in Japan and Qatar to prioritising the wrong set-up direction on his side of the Red Bull garage.

“Basically, the last two weekends [Japan and Qatar] have been extraordinary in a way in that we arrived at the circuit, we were not comfortable and we took directions that made it even worse,” he explained.

Perez has also reiterated his admission from earlier in the year that Red Bull’s title-winning 2023 challenger has been developed away from his preferred driving style.

“I think there is some development in it, and I think there is also some tuning on it that we’ve been doing that means it is not coming so natural as it came before,” he added.

Asked what he requires to gain a natural affinity with the RB19 again, Perez replied: “I think it’s mainly the corner entry, the grip that I need to be a little bit different.”

Despite his fluctuating form putting him at risk of losing second in the standings, Horner has denied that Perez’s seat will be dependent on his final placing.

With the chasing pack progressively closing the gap, Horner was also adamant that the team’s focus remained on ensuring Perez returned to his previous level.

“Definitely, we cannot have this sort of gap,” Perez acknowledged. “I think, basically, to go back to the first six races or so and we were fighting with Max. That’s the target, to get back to that level of comfort with the car.

“My issues have been real and we’ve been struggling with the car a bit and hopefully next year can be a different story, but also these next five races.”

Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner has denied that Sergio Perez’s stay with the side in 2024 is dependent on him securing second place in the Drivers’ Championship.

Perez has failed to build on winning two of the first four races, dropping a seismic 226 points behind team-mate Max Verstappen, who has now taken 15 victories this year.

The Mexican’s slump, which has featured eight Q3 absences in qualifying, has enabled Mercedes’ Lewis Hamiton to apply pressure on his runners-up position in the standings.

Prior to the United States Grand Prix, Perez had only amassed five points in three rounds, prompting Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko to issue that he “needs a team change”.

But amid increasing speculation that Perez could be ousted early from his contract for next year, Horner insists the 33-year-old will remain alongside Verstappen in 2024.

Asked if Perez retaining second place would be imperative to retaining his drive, Horner said via Autosport: “There’s no pre-mandate like that.

“We’ve never finished first and second in a championship. We finished first and third a few times with Mark [Webber] and Sebastian [Vettel] and we finished it last year with Max and Checo.

“So, with this car, it would be fantastic, in such a season that we’ve had, if we could finish first and second.

“But there’s no pre-mandate on Checo that you have to finish second or you won’t be driving the car next year. That’s never been discussed.”

Horner outlined that Red Bull’s sole intention is to help Perez return to the level that enabled him to consistently battle and support Verstappen at the sharp end.

“We know Checo,” he added. “If you see Checo’s performances in the first part of the year: Bahrain, was very, very tight with Max. The race in Saudi, it was a great race between the two of them pushing each other really hard, with very fine margins.

“His race in Azerbaijan, winning the sprint and the grand prix there. Those are the kinds of performances that we know he’s capable of.

“I think it’s just getting him back into that mind frame and to get the most out of him to get him back to those levels of performances.”

Although Perez’s future is secure for 2024, Red Bull is yet to determine who will partner triple World Champion Verstappen in the team beyond the end of next season.

However, Horner assures that Red Bull have plenty of choices and won’t be in an immediate rush to resolve the matter.

“We are certainly not short of options,” he explained regarding 2025. “Of course, we’ve got plenty of time to look and evaluate that, but there’s so many factors involved.”

Horner has also downplayed drivers shying away from being prepared to go up against Verstappen, who has comprehensively defeated his last three team-mates.

“To beat Max, you’ve got to beat him somehow,” he declared. “I think the amount of interest that we have in being a Red Bull Racing driver in 2025, we’re certainly not short of options.”

Sergio Perez believes that a “compromised” car balance disguised the “good progress” he made across Formula 1’s United States Grand Prix weekend.

Perez rued getting caught on the wrong side of “tight margins” in qualifying that left him ninth on the grid, despite only ending up 0.450s away from the pole position time.

Although he was unable to make up ground away from the line, Perez soon picked up places on Esteban Ocon and Oscar Piastri before also undercutting George Russell.

The Mexican then took advantage of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc struggling extensively on a one-stop strategy in the closing stages to move into fifth by the chequered flag.

Perez, who was promoted to fourth when Lewis Hamilton was disqualified post-race, says only having one hour of practice time prevented him from unlocking the full potential of the RB19, which won the race in the hands of team-mate Max Verstappen.

“Overall, we had good pace but the Hard tyre was not good enough to make more progress,” Perez reviewed. “So, something we [have] got to look at.

“We know we compromised quite a bit our balance for the weekend, given that it was only one practice and this is what happens on a Sprint event. You either go wrong direction or right direction, but I expected it to be a lot better.”

Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner revealed ahead of the weekend’s action that Perez had spent three days in the simulator in a bid to overcome his recent troubles.

Questioned if he had been able to successfully translate his extensive work conducted in the simulator to the racetrack, Perez said: “Yes, I think we made some very good progress. Especially considering how much we compromised the car.

“We believe that we left a lot of performance in there, so hopefully we are able to prove that come Mexico next week.”

Perez had only accumulated five points in the three rounds before the US GP, including a contact-induced retirement in Japan and a penalty-inflicted run to 10th in Qatar.

The 33-year-old admits that he was “lost” during that torrid run, adding that returning to basics at the track was every bit as important as his raft of simulator work.

“We were so lost that we were having some difficulties with our preparation on the simulator, compared to what we were experiencing on track,” he explained.

“And just on track, taking the wrong directions. And then that comprising massively our weekends. So, I think we needed to step back a bit and start all over again.”

Next time out, Perez will return home as F1 heads to Mexico, where he has managed podiums in his only two visits with Red Bull.

Perez is optimistic about being able to challenge for a position on the rostrum, having conceded that he was unable to showcase his ultimate speed last weekend.

“I think we didn’t get to show our full pace this weekend, so I really believe that we should be a lot stronger now than we were today,” Perez underlined.

Hamilton had capitalised on Perez’s latest alarming slump to close to within 30 points of the Red Bull driver in the battle for second position in the Drivers’ Championship.

The margin between the two was whittled down to only 19 points after Hamilton followed up second place in the Sprint race with the runners-up spot in the grand prix.

However, Hamilton’s disqualification from Sunday’s classification has provided Perez with a comfortable 39-point advantage going into the remaining four rounds of the season.

Prior to the news that Hamilton had lost his podium, Perez conceded that he needed to improve to avoid losing second place in the standings for the second consecutive year.

“I’m just doing my best and we will see where we end up,” Perez commented.

“I need to make sure that we are able to improve up a gear and yeah, they are improving the car, and we can see they are getting stronger and stronger every race. So, it will be a good fight which will be great the next four races.”