Red Bull’s Sergio Perez says it is ‘super hard’ dealing with critical fans

Perez is over 100 points behind teammate Max Verstappen

Perez gets hit criticism (Getty Images)

Red Bull driver Sergio Perez says it is “super hard” to deal with criticism aimed at him by fans who question his form compared to teammate Max Verstappen.

Perez was going toe-to-toe with Verstappen in the early stages of the season but the Dutchman has stormed ahead, being over 100 points ahead of Perez in the standings and bagging his second world title.

“It can be super-hard but this is why Formula 1 is so difficult,” he said via GPFans. “People just see the result and then they start to criticise you because you have done two bad races in a row.

“We live in such small margins and such small margins can make such a difference to our performances.But we had to go over it ourselves, dig very hard and then try to come out with solutions for the rest of the year.”

The improvements to the car has led many to believe the team made them to fit Verstappen’s style but the team have denied it. The changes could explain the drop in Perez’ form but he is defiant in the face of critics.

“I’ve been in this sport for so long and sometimes I feel people don’t really understand the situation I’m in, the team I’m in, who I am facing and all of that,” he added.

“But I’m not here for people to give me any grade, I’m here for my own reasons and I just have to get on with it.”

Perez is still in second place in the driver standings whoch has helped Red Bull into first place in the constructors title. There are four races left of the season with the next edition coming in the United States on October 23.