Perez: Red Bull will be caught due to no longer producing ‘big upgrades’

Sergio Perez expects that Red Bull’s rivals will start to reel it in as it will no longer bring “big upgrades” to race weekends.

Red Bull has started the 2023 Formula 1 campaign in strong fashion, winning all six races staged so far.

It has possessed a large advantage in race trim over other teams, leaving it to be largely unchallenged during grands prix.

Perez has won two races to team-mate Max Verstappen’s four, but endured a nightmare weekend last time out in Monaco, where he crashed out in qualifying before becoming stuck in traffic on race day.

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However, the Mexican asserts that Verstappen’s growing advantage at the head of the standings has not changed the sense of pressure on his shoulders.

“I want to maximise my weekends and not think too much about the championship,” Perez said. 

“It’s all about maximising the weekends, getting the maximum positions I possibly can and go from there, really. 

“Anything can happen, we have so many races ahead that it can turn around very quickly. The speed is there, which is the most positive [thing]. We just have to go from there.

“Just making sure we are qualifying well, making sure we are racing well. Not making mistakes, when we have a bad day, make sure that we get as many points as possible. 

“We can’t afford any more zeros in the championship.”

In Monaco, Mercedes unveiled a heavily revised upgrade package while Ferrari has new parts installed for the Spanish Grand Prix weekend.

There have been suggestions that Red Bull could win every race this year as its advantage is so large – however Verstappen asserted that such a scenario is unlikely.

Perez hinted that Red Bull is reeling back development focus on its 2023 car and expects other teams to close in as the season progresses.

“I think everyone is closing up the gap,” he said. “We’re not really bringing big upgrades anymore. 

“So I do expect people to get closer every single weekend.”