“He didn’t make a single mistake” – 1996 World Champion Damon Hill feels Red Bull driver Sergio Perez is a notch higher than Mercedes counterpart Valtteri Bottas.
Sergio Perez has been one of the most consistent drivers in the F1 grid over the past few seasons. After impressing for Force India/Racing Point, the Mexican has already started delivering for Red Bull, winning the Azerbaijan GP at Baku.
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This has certainly impressed former champion Damon Hill. Speaking on the F1 Nation podcast, Hill feels Perez is a notch above Mercedes’ de-facto second driver Valtteri Bottas, who has struggled this season and is expected to be on the way out of the team.
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“I think it’s a trend [Perez’s form]. I think it’s a good trend. It’s trending in the right direction. I think he’s building strength and confidence and the team is doing so in him as well. So yeah, I think it takes a while to jump into a new car, a new team, and find out how it all works.
“But I think we’ve seen flashes of his performance when he gets going in a race. He’s not like some drivers who only qualify well. I’d say Valtteri [Bottas] qualifies well and then doesn’t perform quite so well in the race. Whereas Sergio typically goes better in the race.
“For an entire race, he didn’t make a single mistake. Lewis [Hamilton], you could see he was thinking he was running out of time and ideas. He was on the radio all the time saying he can’t stay with him in the middle sector.
“Perez is experienced, he’s calm in the cockpit, and in a race, he’s very strong.”
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