Sergio Perez “very concerned” about Ferrari F1’s pace after finishing behind Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz in Montreal

The poor performances keep on coming for Sergio Perez as the Mexican driver had yet another disappointing display on the grid, this time in Canada. Currently the closest challenger to Max Verstappen's title charge, Sergio Perez's momentum has been completely derailed after a terrific start to the season. Unfortunately, the 33-year-old had a string of poor performances coming into Montreal, and the Canadian GP turned out to be unfavorable as well.

After a dismal qualifying which saw Perez drop out in Q2, the Mexican was expected to bounce back and deliver a strong performance in the race. However, that wasn't the case, as the Red Bull driver failed to secure a top five finish and ended the race in sixth position, behind the two Ferraris of Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc.

When asked why he couldn't catch up with the Ferraris, Sergio expressed his concern and shared his thoughts on the matter:

“Yes, I’m very concerned about that. We just didn’t have the pace and we don’t understand why, that’s the weird thing so we have to figure it out.”

Perez emphasized the importance of analyzing the situation and finding solutions within the team. He suggested that the Red Bull team needs to identify the underlying issues that are hindering their performance and work together to rectify them:

“We’ve gotta sit down and look back because we know what we’re capable of and it’s just important for us to understand what’s going on.”

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Sergio Perez blames safety car for taking all the momentum away

In the 2023 Canadian Grand Prix, George Russell smacked the wall with his right rear tire and then caught it with his front wing while exiting Turn 9, bringing out a full safety car. Furthermore, during the seventh lap, Logan Sargeant of Williams came to a halt at Turn 6 and received instructions from his team to switch off his car. As a result, the virtual safety car was deployed for two laps.

Referring to these incidents, Sergio Perez expressed his displeasure about the safety cars that halted the opportunities he had after a decent start to the race. He stated:

"It was longer (the afternoon) than I thought. I think the safety car basically took all the opportunity away because it was looking good, we raced on that hard tyre and unfortunately it didn’t pay off.”

While the safety car incidents may have hampered his momentum, it cannot be denied that Checo had a poor display at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. Former F1 World Champion Jenson Button voiced a similar opinion after the race, criticizing Sergio for his performance in Montreal.

Following a string of underwhelming races for Sergio Perez, a title charge looks virtually out of the conversation. With Fernando Alonso at 117 points breathing down the neck of the Red Bull driver (126 points), it might just be the time for Checo to gear up his performances in the upcoming weeks.