Sergio Perez is grappling with challenges in his career after a lackluster performance during the United States Grand Prix Sprint at the Circuit of The Americas. Despite teammate Max Verstappen’s success in securing his first victory since June’s Spanish Grand Prix, Perez’s struggles reflect ongoing frustrations with the RB20. These difficulties come as the Mexican driver is fighting to prove that he’s worthy of the Red Bull seat come the 2025 season. Max Verstappen’s outstanding performance, which saw him claiming victory over Lando Norris and Carlos Sainz after fierce competition, shows us a potential turning point for the Milton Keynes outfit after a few difficult races. The team introduced an upgrade package for their RB20 car in Austin, which Verstappen effectively leveraged to clinch the Sprint Qualifying pole. This win could signify a return to form for Red Bull amidst an unfolding championship rivalry. “It was not too bad, feels a bit like old times!” he joked, talking with Guenther Steiner after the race on the broadcast, via Formula 1. “I’m very happy with today. I think of course if you look at the whole race, Ferrari was also very quick, but I think for us finally we were racing again,” the Dutchman added. Slight modifications to the car’s aerodynamics for the high-speed COTA paid dividends, allowing Red Bull to execute a stronger strategy. “Normally in the race we’re always looking back behind us, but now we could just do our own race and we had good pace.” In contrast, Perez saw an underwhelming performance, with him starting 11th to finish just 9th in the Sprint, missing out on crucial points. “I was expecting, to be honest, more pace. It was quite hard to get, in the beginning, by Yuki, and once that happened, the race was too far away from the Haases,” Perez commented. The Red Bull-McLaren rivalry is intense with Red Bull now narrowing the gap in the constructors’ championship. Their eight points in the Sprint further tightened the chase on the Woking squad. “We’ve got to be doing some changes this afternoon to put us in a better window for qualifying,” Perez admitted. The Circuit of The Americas itself is notorious for putting both man and machine to the test. Its intricate layout demands not just driver skill but also a machine able to handle rapid directional changes and bursts of speed.
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