Nico Rosberg slams F1 driver ‘all over the place’ in scathing 2023 verdict

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Nico Rosberg has slammed Sergio Perez for being ‘all over the place’ in 2023 and says his tough season showed Max Verstappen rather than Red Bull dominated Formula 1.

The Milton Keynes outfit enjoyed a nearly perfect season this year as Red Bull won 21 of the 22 Grand Prix. But Perez only contributed two of their victories and also took his wins across the opening four rounds. Verstappen then went on to produce the most dominant year ever.

Only Carlos Sainz managed to deny Red Bull a perfect campaign when the Ferrari driver won the Singapore GP. He took full advantage of Red Bull’s failure to find a set-up suitable for the Marina Bay Street Circuit. It was the only event where Verstappen and Perez both struggled.

Sergio Perez scored less than 50% of Max Verstappen’s points in 2023

Verstappen recorded a record-breaking season in 2023 as the 26-year-old became a three-time successive Formula 1 champion for Red Bull. He now boasts the records for the longest win streak (10), most wins in one season (19), best win percent (86.3%) and laps led (1,003).

While on the other side of the Red Bull garage, Perez failed to reach Q3 nine times and even exited qualifying in Q1 three times. Verstappen only failed to make the last part of qualifying twice in 2023. Perez further took pole position just twice to Verstappen’s 12 in the same car.

Perez’s miserable qualifying form during the middle of the season often forced him to make recovery drives whilst Verstappen dominated. His struggles further saw the 33-year-old end the season with slightly under 50% of his teammate’s title-winning 575-point total with 285.

Nico Rosberg slams Sergio Perez in his verdict on Red Bull’s dominance

Verstappen could also have won Red Bull the constructors’ championship without the points Perez scored. But the Mexican still ended the season second in the drivers’ standings for the team’s first-ever one-two finish. He outscored Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton by 51 points.

Yet, despite finishing the season in second place, Perez admits he was often ‘lost’ in 2023 as Red Bull scrambled for solutions. Now, Rosberg has also used Perez’s inconsistency to show Verstappen was the architect of Red Bull’s dominance and is on his way to being an F1 icon.

“We have to know that it’s not really the dominance of a team,” Rosberg told City AM. “It’s the dominance of a driver. If you look at where Sergio Perez was, he was all over the place.

“We just have to respect that the performance from Verstappen is historic and the greatest seasonal performance of all time. And he’s already easily nearing to be a top-five driver of all time. It’s phenomenal.”