Sergio Perez Photo: PHOTOSPORT
Sergio Perez wants to be considered a Formula One title contender and this weekend's Miami Grand Prix offers the Mexican a chance to lead the championship for the first time and rattle the cage of Red Bull team mate Max Verstappen.
A third win in five races would lift 33-year-old Perez above reigning double world champion Verstappen and be quite a statement of intent.
Verstappen, who has enjoyed an unbroken run at the top of the standings since he won in Spain on May 22 last year, has yet to finish lower than second in 2023 and arrives in Florida with a six-point advantage.
The 25-year-old Dutch driver was only five points clear of Perez after four races last year but won in Miami with fastest lap and went on to finish the season 149 points ahead and with 15 victories to his team mate's two.
Perez has never won more than two races in a season but is coming off the back of a double success in Azerbaijan -- in the Saturday sprint and Sunday's main event -- hoping to build momentum.
"I really believe that we are in the fight," he said after the race in Baku.
STREET CIRCUITS
He finished fourth on Miami's debut last year and former McLaren team mate and 2009 world champion Jenson Button reckons the Mexican, who excels on street circuits, can go a long way to winning over the sceptics.
"I'm really impressed with Sergio. Max has to be the toughest team mate, because he just gets out there and gets it done," the Briton said. "If he (Perez) can pull out a win there (in Miami), that would be a massive deal for him.
"I think that will give him big confidence for the season. We haven't seen him throughout the season be as competitive as Max, Max is on it every weekend and Checo (Perez) has been a lot more up and down.
"Consistency is where Sergio has been lacking...but if he can do it in Miami, I think he has a chance to fight for the championship," added the Briton.
"And I didn't think I'd be saying that. I really didn't."
If Button is rooting for Perez, so too are Formula One neutrals in a season that otherwise risks becoming one long Verstappen victory parade with Red Bull currently in a league of their own.
Red Bull have won every grand prix, three of them one-two finishes and their rivals have been left trailing far down the road.
Formula One needs an exciting race after Baku failed to live up to expectations with scant overtaking and little drama, even if Ferrari's Charles Leclerc did seize pole position and completed the podium.
Miami will be hot and humid and the race, one of three in the United States now with the arrival of Las Vegas in November piling on the hype, physically one of the most demanding of the season.
Aston Martin, Ferrari and Mercedes will all be hoping to get closer to Red Bull while Renault-owned Alpine need a strong result after drawing blanks in Melbourne and Baku.
Miami Grand Prix 2022 Photo: PHOTOSPORT
Formula One statistics for the Miami Grand Prix at the Hard Rock Stadium, round five of the 23-race championship:
Lap distance: 5.412km. Total distance: 308.326km (57 laps)
2022 pole position: Charles Leclerc (Monaco) Ferrari one minute 28.796 seconds.
2022 winner: Max Verstappen (Netherlands) Red Bull
Lap record: Verstappen 1:31.361 (2022)
Start time: 1930GMT (1530 local)
MIAMI
Miami is the first of three U.S. rounds on the 2023 calendar, joined by Austin and Las Vegas, and has a 10-year deal that started in 2022.
Three current drivers have won in the United States: Lewis Hamilton, Valtteri Bottas and Max Verstappen.
The Hard Rock Stadium is usually home to the Miami Dolphins NFL team. The track has three straights and 19 corners, with cars reaching top speeds of 320kph.
Track temperatures reached 59 celsius last year. The circuit has been resurfaced since last year.
WINS
Lewis Hamilton has a record 103 career victories from 314 starts but has not won since Saudi Arabia in December 2021.
Red Bull's double world champion Max Verstappen has 37 wins from 167 starts. One more by Verstappen would put him alongside Sebastian Vettel as the drivers with most wins for the team.
Red Bull have won every race this season, three of them with a one-two finish, and 14 of the last 15.
Aston Martin's Alonso has 32 wins, most recently in his home Spanish Grand Prix in 2013 with Ferrari, from a record 358 starts.
POLE POSITION
Hamilton has a record 103 career poles.
Red Bull have been on pole in three of the four races, with Leclerc taking the top slot in Azerbaijan.
None of Leclerc's last eight pole positions have ended in victory, the longest such streak since Brazilian Nelson Piquet went 10 in a row in 1984-87.
PODIUM
Verstappen's second place in Baku was the 81st podium of his career, one more than the late triple world champion Ayrton Senna in the all-time list. Hamilton has 192.
Four teams and five drivers have now made a podium appearance this season -- Red Bull, Aston Martin, Mercedes and Ferrari. Verstappen has yet to finish outside the top two.
POINTS
Verstappen leads Perez by six points.
Alpine have failed to score in the last two races. They drew a blank only three times last year.
FASTEST LAPS
Four different drivers have taken fastest laps so far this season - Alfa Romeo's Guanyu Zhou, Verstappen, Perez and Mercedes' George Russell.
MILESTONE
Baku was the 25th one-two finish for Red Bull since they entered Formula One in 2005.
Red Bull have won the first four races of a season for the first time.
-Reuters
