F1 News: Former Champion Casts Doubt On Sergio Perez's Championship Fight
Former F1 champion Mika Hakkinen has analysed Sergio Perez's chances of winning her first drivers' championship this year. However, unfortunately for the Mexican driver, Hakkinen feels his chances are looking very difficult.
Perez has put more pressure on his Red Bull teammate and current championship leader Max Verstappen this year. The Austrian team has won all six of the races so far and four out of those six have been 1-2 finishes. Perez had been able to close the gap to just 14 points following the Miami Grand Prix, however, the gap is now 39 points after his tricky weekend in Monaco.
One of the big talking points this year has been the battle between the two Red Bull drivers with Perez in a position to fight for the championship for the first time.
During an interview with Unibet, Hakkinen explained:
"He [Perez] will be looking for a perfect weekend in Spain if he is to challenge team mate Max Verstappen for the title. This is beginning to look very difficult, so it has never been more important for Sergio to refocus."
Hakkinen also went on to discuss Fernando Alonso's impressive start to the season. The Spanish driver is now just 12 points behind Perez in the drivers' standings and is pushing to achieve his 33rd career race win this season. Hakkinen continued:
"In Barcelona Fernando will have a huge amount of home support, and this is a race he would love to win. No amount of enthusiasm from the local fans is going to make the Aston Martin as competitive as a Red Bull. However, if the Red Bulls have a bad day Fernando is ready to take the victory."