Sergio Perez had a disappointing run in Austria last time around. He was forced to retire after making contact with Mercedes George Russell. Checo suffered two DNFs in the last three races in Canada and Austria, with a second-place finish in Silverstone. The Mexican driver has secured six podiums till now and clinched his first victory of the season in Monaco. He is currently third in the drivers\’ standings, 57 points behind his Red Bull teammate Max Verstappen who is on top. After winning in Monaco, Perez was just 15 points behind Max Verstappen in second place before a series of troubles in the last few races. He was considered to be in contention for the 2022 championship with his consecutive performances before reliability concerns came in.
Amid all the drama, Perez is still eyeing the championship and insists that he is still in the battle for the 2022 title. The Mexican hoped to get over his bad luck and secure a good finish at the French Grand Prix. In a recent interview, Checo stated that it was great to be racing again with a chance of making things right after a tough weekend in Austria. Sergio Perez pointed out that he had two DNFs in the last three races. He said he could not afford such reliability issues ahead of the championship. Hence, the Red Bull driver hopes to change things around this weekend at Paul Ricard. Perez believes that he is still in contention for the drivers\’ championship. He felt that it is crucial not to lose any more championship points.
Checo revealed that he won a podium last year in France and is looking forward to achieving a similar feat this weekend. Perez shared that it was challenging to figure out the best line to use at Paul Ricard as there are many different racing lines on the track. Moreover, the high temperature would be physically demanding for the drivers. He added, \”We will have to see how it goes with the tyre degradation because of the heat.\”
Verstappen Hopes To Improve On His Performance In Austria
Verstappen won the sprint in Austria. However, he was outsmarted by Charles Leclerc\’s superior once during the main race. The Ferrari driver won the race in the Red Bull Ring, while Max had to settle for second place in front of his Dutch fans. Thus, the reigning world champ would hope to perform better during the French weekend.
Meanwhile, Max won the race last year at Paul Ricard after overtaking Lewis Hamilton in the penultimate lap of the race. The Dutchman shared that the track has a series of technical and high-speed corners at the end. Thus, it would be crucial to take care of the tyres considering the extreme hot condition over the weekend. Max Verstappen said that he is looking forward to another race weekend. The 24-year-old hopes to improve Austria\’s performance and learn from their last outing.