Sergio Perez says the media "made a big thing" out of his recent struggles "probably because I'm Mexican".
The comment came in the wake of his second race victory of the season, secured in style at the Singapore Grand Prix. After overtaking pole-sitter Charles Leclerc on the first lap, he never looked back and produced one of the best drives of his Formula 1 career.
It was exactly what Red Bull needed from him on a day to forget for their other driver Max Verstappen. Instead of pushing to secure the title at Marina Bay as he had hoped, a poor qualifying was followed up by a very difficult race which saw him make a terrible start before limping back up through the order to finish seventh.
More than that, though, it was a victory that Perez would have been desperate for given his recent struggles. Before Singapore he had stood on the podium only twice in eight races, including two DNFs and a personal worst finish of the season of sixth place at the Italian Grand Prix.
Such an uninspiring run of form had led to some criticism, which he feels was harsher than it might have been because of his nationality. "It means a lot to me," he said after the win at Marina Bay. "Every win is special but I'm the type of guy that is always working under the radar and not making big noises out there.
"I knew I was going through a bit of a bad patch. There's been two races I haven't been on the podium, but obviously the media makes a big thing, probably because I'm Mexican, and they start to make all these comparisons, [like] the biggest mistake Red Bull has made to bring me here. So I'm super happy to get this victory under my belt, and with such a strong performance out there today."
Last month Red Bull technical director Pierre Waché admitted Perez's form has been affected by the team's car development, which has taken the RB18 out of the 32-year-old's preferred setup window. "It is multiple factors," he said when explaining what went wrong for the Mexican.
"The main factor is clearly the car balance and the confidence with a car, compared to the beginning of the year when the car was a little bit more balanced for him and a little bit less for Max. And after the development potential we have put on the car during the season, moving away from that is maybe a part of it. Finding a right set-up for him, it is quite difficult, to put him as confident as he could be to beat, or to fight with Max."
Perez himself said earlier in the summer he felt less comfortable with the car with each upgrade. "I think the development of the car has been... I haven't been as comfortable with it as I was in the beginning, let's put it that way," he said. "So, I think I've got some work to do to understand what's going on."
