Perez unsuccessful in Mexico: Will he win duel with Verstappen at Red Bull?

Sergio Perez has competed in five home Grands Prix, but this year will be the first time the Mexican has had a race-winning car at his disposal. Can Perez peak in his home country or does the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez not suit the Red Bull driver at all?

Return to Mexico

In 2015, the Mexican Grand Prix returned to the Formula One calendar. The country last hosted a GP in 1992, but then Checo was only two years old. The Mexican was therefore happy that F1 returned to his home country, but it was not yet a great success. Perez was on the podium seven times for Force India and Racing Point, but in his home country, he did not manage to do so.

The first edition in 2015 saw a lot of attention on Perez and maybe that worked to his disadvantage. In qualifying, he achieved a ninth-place finish, which was only narrowly faster than teammate Nico Hulkenberg. Despite dropouts from Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen on behalf of Ferrari, Perez finished in eighth place. One position ahead of Max Verstappen and one spot behind his teammate.

In 2016, the worst of the pressure is off for Perez, but he is again struggling to get the most out of the car. On Saturday, he is half a second slower than Hulkenberg in Q2. The German eventually goes through in Q3 for a sixth starting spot, Perez has to settle for a P12. He fought his way back to a point in the race, but Hulkenberg finished on P7 almost twenty seconds ahead of him.

The leader, but not the fastest in Mexico

The picture is strange because over the whole season Perez is better than Hulkenberg. The German does average faster in qualifying, but on Sunday Perez scores the most points. In 2015 and 2016, he finished ahead of his teammate in the standings. The Mexican even finished on the podium three times in those two years, something Hulkenberg will never manage.

In 2017, that trend will continue with a new teammate as well. Esteban Ocon is inferior to the Mexican over a full year, but at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, the Frenchman outperforms his colleague. He is four-tenths faster in Q3 and thus starts four spots ahead of Perez (P6 compared to P10). In the race, Perez does not make up for this. The retirement of Daniel Ricciardo brings Ocon to P5, Perez is seventh.

In 2018, if possible, things get even worse for Perez, when he crashes out with brake problems on lap 38. Ocon has already beaten him in qualifying by then, but it won't earn him points on Sunday either, as the team has lost some ground in Lawrence Stroll's takeover of Force India.

Duel with Stroll is won

In 2019, thanks in part to Perez, Force India has fallen entirely into the hands of Lawrence Stroll and son Lance has come in as a replacement for Ocon. Perez has no child to the Canadian in that year. In the standings, he scores more than double the number of points (52 versus 21) and even on Saturday the Mexican is faster. This time this is even reflected in Mexico.

At home, Perez qualifies ahead of his teammate for the first time in 2019. Stroll drops out in Q1 as he is six tenths slower than Perez. Perez himself eventually comes up just short of Q3 and starts from P11. From that starting spot, he achieves seventh place for the second time and scores his best result ever.

Perez may have finished ahead of his teammate in the last Mexican Grand Prix, but the fact that he has failed to do so in the other four shows that Perez is not entirely happy in his home country. This is not surprising, because the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez does not accentuate Perez's qualities.

Mexico and Perez not a good match

In Mexico, it's all about finding grip on the slippery track, especially in sector three. This is where drivers like Verstappen and Hamilton excel. This is not the case for Perez. He has had his best performances on tracks that are tough on tyres and mainly demand a lot from the rear tyres. This is not the case in Mexico.

While fans are obviously hoping for a win for their hometown hero, that is unlikely beforehand. Verstappen and Hamilton have proven to be very capable in Mexico City, where Perez lost the duels to Ocon and Hulkenberg. It could be a coincidence, but perhaps it is a sign that Perez does not have a track to his liking in his home country, so we should not expect miracles from him now that he is in a Red Bull.