Late Season Battle for Second in F1
Hamilton and Perez Separated by only 30 Points
There’s a late-season battle for second in F1 after Max Verstappen wrapped up his third title in a row. The battle for second place in the last Grand Prix was intense between Sergio Perez from Red Bull and Lewis Hamilton from Mercedes. Unfortunately, Hamilton ruined his chances of gaining more points by making a poor decision to enter Turn 1 during the race.
This error resulted in him colliding with his teammate and losing a rear wheel as he spun into the gravel. Hamilton began the race behind Russell and Verstappen on soft compound tires, while the latter two were on medium tires. To take advantage of his tires’ extra grip, Hamilton tried to pass them both in one corner, which caused the collision.
Formula 1 on Twitter: “Drama from the get-go in Lusail 😵#F1 #QatarGP pic.twitter.com/1ZM9na9CIi / Twitter”
Drama from the get-go in Lusail 😵#F1 #QatarGP pic.twitter.com/1ZM9na9CIi
Over the weekend in Qatar, Hamilton managed to cut into Perez’s lead in the points standings. This was due to Perez’s continued poor form which led to him failing to finish the sprint race the day before. Perez was taken out in a three-way crash that also included Esteban Ocon and Nico Hulkenberg. Hamilton was right behind the three drivers when the crash happened and managed to avoid it. He went on to finish fifth in the sprint race, earning four points while Perez didn’t score any.
Formula 1 on Twitter: “Ocon 💥 Hulkenberg 💥 PerezSparks flew as three drivers dramatically clashed in #F1Sprint 😵#F1 #QatarGP pic.twitter.com/IBwZep45l6 / Twitter”
Ocon 💥 Hulkenberg 💥 PerezSparks flew as three drivers dramatically clashed in #F1Sprint 😵#F1 #QatarGP pic.twitter.com/IBwZep45l6
During the Qatar Grand Prix, Perez had to start from the pit lane due to the car repairs that were needed as a result of the crash. Even though Perez managed to climb through the field to secure the 10th position, he was only able to score one point as Hamilton reduced Perez’s lead by three.
Hamilton’s Qatar Failure
Hamilton’s performance in Qatar marked the first time he had failed to finish a race all season, as well as the first time he had failed to score points in a Grand Prix all season. Prior to the Qatar Grand Prix, Hamilton’s worst finish of the season was eighth in Austria, and he had finished in the top six in the other 15 races.
Despite Mercedes lacking pace compared to Red Bull this season, they have made up for it in consistency. Hamilton has only started on the front row once in 2023 and has just one second-place finish. He scored the pole for the Hungarian Grand Prix, but lost the lead heading into the first turn and finished fourth.
Hamilton is currently on the longest winless streak of his career since his last win in Saudi Arabia in 2021. Mercedes has fallen behind Red Bull over the past two seasons, and unless Hamilton scores a win before the end of the season, he risks becoming the first driver since Ronnie Peterson in 1971 to finish second in the points standings without winning a race. Perez’s inconsistency has contributed to this outcome.
Not a Lot of Race Winners this Season
Up until Carlos Sainz won in Singapore, Perez was the only driver, apart from Verstappen, to win an F1 race in 2023. Perez won the second race of the season in Saudi Arabia and won two races later in Azerbaijan. However, Verstappen has won the last two races, while Perez’s form has been inconsistent.
Perez crashed during qualifying at Monaco, making it difficult for him to make up any places on the grid. Since then, his qualifying form has been poor.
Perez had a poor run of five races without starting in the top 10 before finally starting ninth in Hungary. He has only started on the front row once since his crash in Monaco, and his average starting position of 9.5 ranks eighth among the 20 drivers in the F1 field. It’s difficult to consistently finish well when starting so far back in the field in F1, and although Perez is gaining an average of four positions per race, his average finish of 5.5 is just behind Hamilton. This is a big reason why Hamilton has a chance to catch him over the final five races of the season, especially if Perez can’t consistently qualify near his teammate.
Hamilton in Range
Hamilton needs to score just over six points per race weekend more than Perez, with five Grands Prix and two sprint races remaining. This is doable as Grand Prix winners earn 25 points, second place scores 18, third scores 15, and fourth scores 10. The points decrease on a sliding scale to a single point for 10th place. Sprint race winners earn eight points, with one point decrease down to eighth place, which earns a single point.
Perez cannot afford to qualify poorly at Circuit of the Americas, as another poor finish could see Hamilton cutting 10 or more points into the gap. Perez may also be racing with added pressure, as his contract with Red Bull is up at the end of the 2024 season. Although there is no public indication that Red Bull is willing to make a switch in its second car before the end of Perez’s contract, Daniel Ricciardo’s presence looms large.
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Ricciardo Joins Red Bull
Ricciardo rejoined Red Bull as its reserve driver ahead of the 2023 season, after leaving McLaren. He spent just 10 races in that role before Red Bull removed Nyck De Vries from AlphaTauri and put Ricciardo in that seat. This move was seen by many as a signal that Red Bull could be giving Ricciardo a tryout of sorts to see if he could replace Perez. However, that tryout has been on hold, as Ricciardo suffered a hand injury before his third race of the season and has missed the last five races.
Ricciardo is set to return for the final five races of the season, and his performances at AlphaTauri will inevitably be compared to Perez’s. If Perez can’t keep Hamilton at bay for a second and Ricciardo overperforms at AlphaTauri, there may be speculation about Perez’s Formula 1 future during the offseason.