Formula 1: Perez says he is in “good place” now

Sergio Perez believes he is again in "a good place" after losing "some confidence" with his car after a qualifying collision in Monaco, and he hopes to win again at this weekend's Belgian Grand Prix.

Perez entered the Monaco Grand Prix in May having won two of the first five races of the season and sitting comfortably second in the drivers' championship with 87 points, only six points behind teammate Max Verstappen.

However, following his collision in Monte Carlo, he has failed to make it into Q3 in four of the previous five races, although qualifying in Hungary, and has only finished on the podium twice, in Austria and Hungary. As a result, he now follows Verstappen in the drivers' standings by 110 points.

And ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix, Perez was asked whether his dip in form had been due to overthinking.

“I think certainly after Monaco, I lost some confidence because the way my crash happened, I did lose a bit of confidence with the car, and that put me back," Formula 1 quoted Perez as saying.

“I have my psychology and that's something I work on. Other than that, it's just how the sport is. You have good moments, bad moments, but always when you are at Red Bull, the pressure is a lot higher in that regard," he added.

“You have a bad session, and you have to answer questions about your future straight away. It's just how it is, but luckily now I'm in a good place. I have to focus on making sure I enjoy my job and enjoy the weekend," said the Red Bull driver.

Asked whether he had experienced a year like this, full of mixed results before in his 12-year Formula 1 career, Perez said, “Yeah. I've had the before. It's just how it is."

“We operate on such small details that sometimes if everything is not perfect it can mean being on the podium or out of the points. But it’s obviously something people at home don’t really understand as much.

“How much detail goes into our races, and that can make a difference between having a great race and having a poor race. It can happen to anyone, to any driver in Formula 1.

The 2023 Belgian Grand Prix will be held on Sunday at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps.