Sergio Perez has outlined that his main target with Red Bull for the 2024 Formula 1 season is to avoid getting bogged down with the car as it gets developed through the year.
Perez began the previous campaign strongly with two wins from the opening four races to close within five points of team-mate Max Verstappen at the top of the championship.
However, a crash in the opening stage of qualifying in Monaco triggered a torrid run of five consecutive absences from Q3 in qualifying, bringing an end to his title hopes.
The Mexican concluded the season without appearing on the top step of the rostrum again and 290 points behind Verstappen, who logged a record-breaking 19 victories.
But having understood the troubles that plagued his competitiveness last term, Perez is optimistic that he will rebound better as he bids to earn an extension with Red Bull.
“I feel very refreshed and with the learning from last year it is very important we learn what went wrong, learn from our mistakes,” he told media including Motorsport Week.
“I think we understood a lot of things and it’s my fourth year with Red Bull so I do expect to be at my best this year.”
Asked what his target is for 2024, Perez replied: “It’s to maximise every single opportunity.
“To get a really strong pace early on and just be able to carry that through the whole season, you know? Develop this season.”
Perez addressed that the key area he has been working on is “understanding the difficult races and why they were so difficult” to avoid a repeat slump occurring this year.
“The direction we were taking with the car, how we were over-compensating things and not necessarily making the car better, I think all of that we need to learn from,” he added.
Perez’s struggles culminated in a dreadful period where he picked up only a solitary point from Qatar and Japan while getting caught up in tangles during both weekends.
Although he claimed Red Bull’s dominant RB19 car was developed away from him, Perez admits that his problems were routed in plumping for incorrect set-up directions.
“I think more than that we had some issues as the car was developing and the way we were trying to improve those issues meant we were taking performance out of the car and not necessarily going faster,” he explained when questioned on whether he was hindered by trying to adapt too much.
“I think being more comfortable is not necessarily faster, so it’s something that we understood. Especially in Qatar and Japan, that was the lowest point of the season where we understood a lot of things.
An extensive analysis with his group of engineers back at Red Bull’s Milton Keynes base transpired to be a turning point that saw Perez rebound to end the year stronger.
However, the six-time grand prix winner doesn’t expect his breakthrough will be applicable to Red Bull’s RB20 challenger.
“I think with the changes that we have done to the car it is all about improving and learning and growing with the car,” he said.
“It’s a long season, so it doesn’t really matter where you start in Bahrain, it’s where you finish in Abu Dhabi. So it’s a massive season and we want to have that progression, so that will be my main focus for this year.”
Perez also believes that he “absolutely” has to discover his own way with car setup throughout this season, despite conceding that he has a “great reference” in Verstappen.
“It’s not like there is a magic bullet that is right or wrong, it is just staying open through the season and making sure we find that right path to find the pace and develop from there,” he concluded regarding his approach.
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