Sergio Per𝓰ez insists this year has been his most difficult in 🍸Formula 1.

The Red Bull driver entered the season knowi🥂ng Daniel Ricciardo was among the contenders to replace him.

A series of early podiums established Perez but he began to struggle, and w🌳as unable to tame the RB20 which it later emerged was declining in competit🍒iveness.

Max Verstappen was initially able to overcome his car’s problems but, ✱when the F1 champion also🍬 started struggling, Perez’s woes were contextualised.

"This year has been complicated,” he told .

“I think that this year it has been very hard to have a car with th✨e limitations that I have had this season and not being able to express it♓, right?

“Because your teammate is winning, he is doing very well and you have an increasingly bigge❀r barrier.

"It was hard all summer, I thin🐻k it was one of my most difficult momentsꦛ in F1.”

Perez was asked to erase one moment from his career that he’d rather forget, and he answered: "Forgetting about these la🉐st six months, it has been hard, honestly.

"Imagine when you have a car that i🦋s so limiting that you come to the weekend and you know you can't do anything with it, and the only thing you're thinking is that at any moment you could crash it because you don't have control of it."

There ꧃was huge speculation that Perez would lꦡose his Red Bull race seat at the mid-way stage of this year.

Ultimately they op♌ted to back him, 🌱and instead RB’s Ricciardo was replaced by Liam Lawson.

"In the end, the ✱issue of the contract was something that people forget,” he said.

“I made a contract j🐼ust this season, and many times people talk about more, but I  wasn't worried, I know where I stand."

Perez delivered an encouraging display in Azerbaijan, contending for a podium until an unfortuna💎te last-lap crash with Carlos Sainz.

His lack of points is a major contributor to McLaren overtaking Re⛦d Bull at the topꦬ of the constructors’ championship.