Sergio Perez has conceded it is "tough to digest" for his Mexican fans watching him race at the back of the field with Cadillac this season.
Perez sits last in the drivers' championship on zero points after 17 rounds, with his best result so far nowhere near the points-paying positions. The 36-year-old finished two laps down in 17th at last time out in Singapore.
It is a dramatic change in circumstances for a driver who has long been Mexico's biggest motorsport export, with crowds exceeding 400,000 across the Mexico City Grand Prix weekend in recent years and a nationwide following built over more than a decade at the sharp end of the grid with Racing Point and Red Bull.
Perez and the rest of F1 now face another triple-header, starting on Cadillac's home soil in the United States, with a grand prix in Austin, followed by his home round at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, which will mark his 300th grand prix start if all goes ahead as planned.
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Perez - 'A different story'
Looking ahead to the run of races, speaking to the media, including RacingNews365, Perez said: "Some busy weekends are coming up.
"We've got the home race for the team, and then my home race in Mexico, so two weekends in a row that are very important for us.
"I'm really happy to be going back to Mexico, and if everything goes to plan, it will be my 300th race there.
"How lucky I am to get my 300th at home. It will be something special to be with my whole country."
But the Mexican also acknowledged the shift in what his supporters are now watching, with Cadillac still working through its first season as an outfit reliant on customer Ferrari power units while General Motors develops its own factory engine for introduction later in the decade.
"Obviously, it's tough to digest for a fan because they want to see me winning and in the fight," he said. "They've been used to that.
"Now it's a different story, but they completely get it, and they're completely behind this project. I'm very fortunate to have them."
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