33-year-old F1 racer will be going through ‘complex mind game’ in Singapore

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Red Bull Racing driver Sergio Perez will have a lot to think about during qualifying at the Singapore Grand Prix this weekend.

Journalist Tom Clarkson was speaking on the F1 Nation Podcast as the Asia leg of the Formula 1 season begins.

Normally at this stage of the season, all eyes are on the front of the grid with just eight races to go.

Title challenges can be won and lost at that stage of the year, however, that’s unlikely to be the case this season.

Max Verstappen has won ten races on the bounce setting a Formula 1 record and running away with the championship.

He’s now 145 points ahead of his nearest challenger; Sergio Perez.

The Mexican driver looked like he was going to challenge Verstappen at the start of the season, winning two of the first four races.

Verstappen appeared to take those victories personally and has won every Sunday race since.

It all started to unravel for Perez during qualifying in Monaco and he’ll be hoping there’s not a repeat of his issues that day in Singapore.

Psychologically, he needs to have a good day on Saturday to avoid street circuits becoming a bigger issue in the future.

Perez needs good qualifying session in Singapore

Speaking about the upcoming race, Clarkson said: “You do need to qualify well. It will be really interesting to see what Checo [Perez] can pull together there.

“I think back to Monaco where he crashed in Q1 at Sainte Devote and so that was his weekend destroyed.

“I do wonder how something like that weighs on the mind of a driver. The last proper street track Checo had that Q1 exit.

“So, when he goes into Q1 this coming weekend, he knows he’s got to keep it clean because he cannot afford a crash, an elimination that early in the session.

“Does that mean he leaves in a bit in reserve and then gets caught out? All these things, it’s such a complex mind game.

“Whereas Max [Verstappen] at the minute is driving with so much confidence and there’s not a negative thought anywhere near Max Verstappen.”

Perez will want to have a brilliant qualifying session in Singapore and narrowly missing out on pole position there last year.

He went on to win the race becoming the first driver to win both Monaco and Singapore since Sebastian Vettel in 2011.

However, it’s so easy to lose confidence in your ability on such difficult circuits after one mistake.

The pressure is on Perez who admitted it’s ‘hard to see’ Verstappen dominate Formula 1.