F1 News: Sergio Perez Believes It's Possible To Beat Max Verstappen As He Continues 2023 Campaign

Red Bull driver Sergio Perez insists he can still beat his teammate Max Verstappen to take his first drivers' championship win.

The Mexican driver has been able to put a lot more pressure on Verstappen this season, closing the gap to just fourteen points after the Miami Grand Prix. Although Verstappen is now ahead by 39 points after Perez's disastrous Monaco Grand Prix.

Red Bull has dominated the season, winning all of the six races so far and four out of those six having insane 1-2 finishes. With Perez putting pressure on the two-time champion, there has been an increased number of reports of friction within the team. Although we are six races in, there is still a long way to go through the season.

Perez explained during an interview with the press ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix, as quoted by ESPN:

"I've been a match to Max since the beginning of the season, in one way or another.

"It is sometimes better, sometimes worse and it's where I believe you have to be.

"I think being teammates with Max is probably the toughest thing you can have because he is a driver who has the most form of all, and I do believe it's possible to beat him."

When asked if Perez thought he could challenge and beat Verstappen on a regular basis, the Mexican driver responded:

"I have to. I have to do that regularly. That's the main objective for us."

Perez went on to reflect on his crash during the qualifying session for the Monaco Grand Prix which left him starting from the back of the grid. He added:

"Formula One is my passion. I live for it, so it hurts a lot because you work so hard as a team and it feels like you have let your whole team down, so it hurts.

"But now this is behind me. It was important for me to put my hand up and I think every time you do a mistake, that is what you've got to do. Take responsibility.

"If this crash happened and I was 0.5s or a second off, I would be more concerned. But the positive thing is the speed is there to be able to swing around things, but for now I am mainly focused on weekend by weekend and I want to win and get victories on my side."

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