Sergio Perez is getting ready to enter his fourth season as Max Verstappen’s crew mate at Purple Bull in 2024, the identical level Nico Rosberg reached when he lastly managed to topple Lewis Hamilton with a very decided effort by means of the 2016 marketing campaign. As the brand new time period approaches, we ponder whether or not there are any classes the Mexican can study from that notorious Mercedes intra-team battle…
Perez will get set for an enormous yr
Perez undoubtedly has one of the vital tough jobs in F1 as Verstappen’s crew mate.
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Whereas he’s been driving the most effective vehicles of his profession over the past three years, the motive force on the opposite aspect of the storage – broadly considered one of many best the game has ever seen – has shifted the benchmark to a complete new degree.
That stated, after bedding in by means of 2021 and 2022, which introduced a trio of victories, a lot extra podiums and a maiden pole place, Perez confirmed indicators early within the 2023 season of probably being able to take the battle to his crew mate.
Certainly, two victories throughout the primary 4 races – together with a Grand Prix and Dash double in Azerbaijan, the place Perez held his nerve in a tense encounter – meant he was simply six factors behind Verstappen within the drivers’ standings.
2023 Azerbaijan Grand Prix: Sergio Perez crosses the road in Baku to take his second victory of the season
However then got here Miami. Whereas on paper it was a stable P2 end behind Verstappen, he had in crew boss Christian Horner’s phrases been dealt a “huge psychological blow” – given the Dutchman’s fightback from ninth on the grid after he was unable to set a lap time in Q3.
What adopted was a whole collapse as Perez endured a run of 5 successive occasions with out an look within the closing section of qualifying, together with a Q1 exit in Monaco that gave rival groups the bonus of a better take a look at the RB19’s intricate flooring design.
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Whereas Perez righted a few of these wrongs to ultimately safe the runner-up spot within the championship, his common grid slot of 10.4 from Monaco to Abu Dhabi in comparison with 2.4 for Verstappen, and he had no wins to his crew mate’s return of 16.
Come the top of the yr, Perez mirrored: “Clearly we began actually strongly the yr, then we had a little bit of a rollercoaster mid-season. However we didn’t surrender, we caught collectively as a crew, and I need to thank my complete crew for supporting me.
“We went by means of very powerful instances, however we managed to safe the most effective season within the historical past of our crew [with the constructors’ title and one-two in the drivers’ championship] and we’ve discovered from these tough moments, [so] we are going to come again stronger.”
When Rosberg confronted Hamilton
However past bettering his qualifying kind – Horner stressing that “we all know he can race and he’s acquired nice tempo, however we want him to be beginning additional up the grid” – and feeling extra at one with Purple Bull’s new challenger, are there any classes Perez can study from the previous?
Whereas we’re coping with a special period, two totally different drivers and a special crew atmosphere, to not point out a lot smaller gaps within the drivers’ standings than Verstappen’s file successful margin over Perez final yr, Rosberg confronted a broadly comparable problem for the 2016 season in that he had been repeatedly crushed by Hamilton in 2013, 2014 and 2015.
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Talking in an look on Past The Grid after his retirement, Rosberg went in-depth concerning how he managed to get on phrases with Hamilton, hit this greater degree on a constant foundation and ultimately overhaul him – beginning out by observing each ingredient of what his crew mate and principal rival was doing on and off the observe.
After their well-documented stint as crew mates in karting, Rosberg admitted that “there have been some totally different elements that got here into it” when he linked up with Hamilton once more in F1, “like his power within the media and crew internally”.
“Karting is nearly pure driving and in F1 you may add a lot extra to it,” Rosberg continued. “You possibly can add a lot efficiency with dedication, method, marginal good points… I believe that’s why I actually did handle to turn into stronger.”
The hunt for each hundredth
Taking the primary 5 rounds of final season – and solely utilizing Grand Prix and Dash qualifying classes the place each Purple Bull drivers’ efforts have been uncompromised – Perez trailed Verstappen by simply 0.099s when their lap instances have been mixed.
Not solely does it underline that Perez was very a lot within the ballpark within the early levels of the marketing campaign, it additionally highlights the superb margins concerned in F1 and the way a couple of hundredths could make all of the distinction with regards to constructing essential momentum.
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Ought to Perez be capable to discover that kind extra typically in 2024, keep away from any dramatic drop-offs and higher take care of Purple Bull’s movement of upgrades, different elements Rosberg opened up about throughout his dialog with Tom Clarkson might turn into extra related.
The primary instance he offered centred round some intelligent health work and weight-saving.
Heading into the 2016 summer time break 19 factors behind Hamilton, a reflective Rosberg determined to surrender biking in a bid to shave off some muscle and in flip shed some weight – all whereas being cautious to not have an effect on his talents behind the wheel.
After the one-month vacation, the German and his trimmed legs meant enterprise, successful in Belgium, Italy and Singapore, and once more in Japan after sealing pole place at Suzuka by a tiny margin of 0.013 seconds that proved his uncommon efforts have been paying off.
“We have been obese with the automotive, so our body weight actually mattered,” Rosberg defined. “You possibly can’t go on a weight loss program in the midst of the season as a result of it simply destroys you mentally – it kills you.
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“The one answer was, [and] I considered it myself, ‘Let’s lose some leg muscle tissues’. I ended biking, then after the summer time break we went to Suzuka and I used to be on pole by two hundredths of a second, and one kilo of the leg muscle tissues which I misplaced is value three hundredths of a second per lap.
“I received the race and that actually messed [with] Lewis’ head somewhat bit on that weekend there. This was a extremely decisive step in the direction of [winning] the championship.”
Whereas an F1 driver weight restrict was launched in 2019 to make sure parity between F1’s heaviest and lightest drivers, and due to this fact reduces the affect Perez could make on this regard, it exhibits the acute lengths Rosberg went to in a bid to land marginal good points.
Onboard pole place lap – Nico Rosberg, Japan 2016
Leaving no stone (or glove) unturned
However it didn’t cease there.
As touched on earlier, Rosberg reviewed each single ingredient that contributed to his efficiency and set about making any enchancment attainable in a bid to bridge the hole to Hamilton – after which edge forward.
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Along with these modifications bringing tangible rewards by way of lap time and Rosberg’s consolation within the cockpit, he claims it began to place questions in his crew mate’s head, which means the bodily steps have been coupled with a psychological affect.
“One other huge one from that yr was the gloves,” Rosberg continued, when requested to provide one other instance of the marginal efficiency good points he was searching for.
“I labored on my gloves to take away any sort of seams or any sort of patches that have been between my finger and the clutch paddle, to essentially get the absolute best really feel and make it as skinny as attainable.
“Going away from the best way the usual [production] for my glove was finished, to creating it customized made only for myself, the best way the clutch finger – simply the finger – was modelled, that was an enormous assist for me.
“I had a string of like 4 or 5 races the place I nailed the begins and Lewis was questioning what the hell was happening, ‘Why’s he doing begins so nicely?’, then he took over that glove design as nicely.”
Maximising psychological power
Whereas the aforementioned knock-on results of those modifications all performed their half, Rosberg took the psychological aspect as a complete – and controlling his personal thoughts – very significantly.
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He described it as a “enjoyable subject” to delve into, having labored with a psychologist for “many, a few years”, together with in 2016 when his weeks have been crammed with common two-hour classes.
“[I was] studying about myself, studying methods to method life, studying how to deal with feelings that come,” he stated of what was lined in the course of the discussions.
“You possibly can’t swap off feelings once they come, however in the event you perceive them, why they’re there, you may react a lot better and far more appropriately.”
Rosberg added that this had “an enormous snowball impact” on his life and profession, earlier than joking it utilized “in all places besides the final 4 laps in Abu Dhabi”, the place he did simply sufficient to beat Hamilton to the title.
It’s one thing Perez seems to have adopted as nicely, revealing in a current interview with Dutch newspaper De Limburger that he sought assist from a psychological coach amid his 2023 struggles with a view to turning into “the most effective model of myself” as an individual and driver.
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Feeling as contemporary as attainable
This psychological readability will probably be much more vital in 2024, on condition that F1 is ready to stage a record-breaking 24 Grands Prix – bringing loads of journey to totally different time zones and the perennial problem of jet lag.
F1’s calendar was already a busy one again in 2016, with 21 races staged at the moment, and Rosberg’s need to be main the best way on the observe and away from it noticed him attain out to a Harvard sleep physician for recommendation.
Explaining how he up to date his routine, Rosberg stated: “In the event you go to Australia, you begin 5 days earlier than, [shifting your sleep by] one-and-a-half hours, and by the point you get to the final day, you’re seven-and-a-half hours in.
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“I might rise up at one o’clock within the morning on the final day, or vice versa, no matter, some loopy time of the day. My spouse would take a look at me and say, ‘Are you utterly nuts now? Have you ever misplaced your thoughts?’
“At 3:30, 4am, I might be on the market in Monaco operating. Then [I would] take the flight, land and once more, while you get there, one-and-a-half hour steps – don’t utterly immediately regulate to the time.”
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Rosberg stated he accomplished the season with out as soon as feeling the results of jet lag and, having beforehand “actually struggled” to go to sleep whereas touring the globe, described it as “a revolution for my life”.
Discovering the work/life stability
Amid all these bodily and psychological efforts, you can be forgiven for pondering that Rosberg had no time left to do the rest.
However he made clear that switching off and enjoyable is simply as vital, making a “excellent stability” that brings optimum happiness in life and optimum efficiency at work.
“I’ve discovered that higher life equals higher efficiency,” he stated. “That is really one of many slogans from our late F1 physician, Aki Hintsa, which is one thing that he was all the time preaching.
“I’ve actually discovered to know that and that’s what I actually targeted on in my championship-winning yr, to get the stability completely excellent in life.
“You actually work exhausting generally, however ensure you have the time to get well, mentally as nicely, with the household, pals, taking it simple, simply chilling out, all these items. I actually acquired it so nicely nailed for that final yr.”
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There have been, after all, contentious moments and incidents alongside the best way which all performed their half (together with that Spanish Grand Prix conflict), whereas Hamilton suffered a very pricey late-season engine failure in Malaysia, however there’s no doubting the steps Rosberg made within the areas listed above to place the strain on and in the end flip the tables.
It was a monumental effort that pushed him to peak efficiency, each bodily and mentally, and produced a model of himself that he felt couldn’t be topped – prompting his daring name to retire on the finish of the 2016 season.
Heading into what will probably be a vital yr for Perez and his F1 future, solely time will inform if he has what it takes to emulate Rosberg and provides his world-beating crew mate one thing to consider.
