(Motorsport) Formula 1 driver Sergio Perez says he is “certain” that he can fight against teammate Max Verstappen for the 2023 Formula 1 Championship. The Mexican driver won the Saudi Arabia Grand Prix and is currently just one point behind the reigning champion after the first two races. Despite starting the race in 15th place, Verstappen ended up 2nd, a testament to just how fast Red Bull Racing’s car is and the Dutchman’s talent. The reigning champion also got a bonus point for the fastest lap in Jeddah and will look forward to winning the Australian Grand Prix this weekend.

When asked if winning the world championship was feasible for him, Perez said: “Certainly. We have a very strong car, a very strong package, a car I feel comfortable with, a car I am working well with and a car I believe, with the direction we are taking in development, I can get the most out of. I think that is important to be able to stay in the fight throughout the season – to have a car that you can be competitive whatever conditions you are in. When you are in the fight for the championship you have got to take your A-game into every single race, you have to try everything you possibly can.”

Perez will become Verstappen’s longest serving teammate at Red Bull Racing by the end of the ongoing season, surpassing Daniel Ricciardo who left the team in 2019. Since then, Red Bull have signed Alex Albon and Pierre Gasly who couldn’t match the team’s expectations and were subsequently replaced. “If I want to win the championship I have to beat Max weekend in, weekend out and keep this level of consistency throughout the season,” said Perez. “I think it’s all about consistency and taking it race by race. You can win 15 races but in the other races if you crash and have DNFs it is not enough.”

Speaking about his teammate and rival, Perez said “There is no doubt there is no driver on such form as Max. Together with the team and the car, he is definitely the hardest driver to beat. It will require the maximum out of me every single weekend. Having Max as a reference makes you a better driver, it takes everything out of you. Certainly last year when we started developing the car, it suited Max more. At the moment I believe we are asking for the same things. In the first two races we have been together very closely on balance, asking for a similar sort of balance. In that regard, it is a good thing for now.

“I am here to do the best possible thing for myself [but] we have a lot more respect for each other than people might think. There is a great atmosphere with the team, a very high level of respect between each other with all the engineers on their side and my side. I think we are both mature enough to know what’s right and what’s wrong. As long as that keeps being the case, I don’t expect anything to change.”

When asked about third driver Daniel Ricciardo, Perez replied “He is someone very positive and great to have around. He never stops smiling and I think it is great for the team. We are in a very unique position to have Daniel around with the amount of experience he has. He has been doing a very good job for us.”

Scuderia Ferrari will be looking for some improvement in Australia, having had a very disappointing 2023 season so far. At the Saudi Arabia Grand Prix, Carlos Sainz finished sixth while teammate Charles Leclerc was seventh, a drastic fall from this time last year where the Italian manufacturer looked like competing for the titles. Speaking about the season, Charles Leclerc said “Clearly our performance is not as good as last year but we are working massively to try and come back at the front. We know where we need to work on.

“I don’t think there will be any miracles this weekend. It’s an evolution from last year’s car but clearly it’s not enough when you look at where Red Bull is, especially in race pace. We’ve got lots of work to do. I think we’ve been quite good in qualifying since the beginning of the season. Where we need to focus is the race where our car is extremely peaky.

“When all the conditions are right, we seem to be able to extract the performance out of our package but whenever the conditions are changing a little bit then that’s where we struggle. I do believe that we’ll be quite close in qualifying – I hope so – but I think that the picture in the race will be quite similar.”

Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz said “We know this track is not too different from Jeddah. so there is nothing telling me that suddenly we should outpace the Red Bulls. I prefer to keep expectations low because it’s realistic. We are three tenths off in qualifying but eight tenths off in the race. I think it would need to be a freaky track like a Monza or a Monaco to change the situation but we are always optimistic.

“At the moment the car is a bit inconsistent, a bit unpredictable. It is not the easiest to set-up but we know why. We have analysed the data and clearly see where the weaknesses are. This gives us a good picture of the direction we need to go but it will not be in a matter of a race or two or three – it will be more mid-term.”

Also read: Hamilton claims Mercedes will take a year to compete against Red Bull Racing