Sergio Perez’s father Antonio Perez Garibay has recently stated that his Formula 1 driver son would have been a world champion by now if he met with a special criterion. Garibay revealed that if his son would have raced for a team like Red Bull earlier, he would have been already a title holder by now.
According to a recently published report by SportsMole, Perez Sr. said,
“If Checo had this [Red Bull] opportunity from the beginning as other young drivers had, he would already be world champion several times, I have no doubt.”
Admittedly, the Red Bull chance has brought out a different Perez. Even since he joined the Austrian team back in 2021, he has been a podium regular and picked up five of his six wins at Milton-Keynes.
And to sync with Perez Sr, the Mexican driver had raced with teams like Sauber, McLaren, Force India, and its rebranded Racing Point team. It’s important to note that these teams were largely mid-tabled and rarely had cars to challenge mighty Mercedes, Ferrari, or Red Bull for the world championship.
Can Perez be a world champion in Red Bull?
Perez has been a serious title contender this season. After spending two years behind the shadow of Max Verstappen, the 33-year-old began to pose a serious threat to the defending champion in 2023.
However, it’s hard to predict if Checo will be able to pick a championship in the future. Given, he only has one more year left in his contract, as compared to the Dutchman’s five. Hence, with Verstappen in the team, it’s unlikely that the 25-year-old will leave the space for him.
But for Garibay, he’s still hopeful that his son can be a world champion. On this, he said, “I believe we will all see Checo Perez for the next ten years and I certainly see him as a world champion.” But it’ll be interesting to see how Sergio Perez manages to keep up with the belief.
Perez received a reality check in his title hope
The Red Bull star was given a harsh reality check by Dutch racing driver Tom Coronel. Coronel believes Perez has got no chance against his teammate Max Verstappen when it comes to the 2023 F1 world championship.
Despite the hope of the title, Perez will have to stay as a second fiddle in Red Bull. This is because he is still teammates with the two-time world champion, Coronel is of the opinion.
The defending champion’s compatriot further believes that the 25-year-old will extend his championship lead from the brutal Miami GP. This means the 33-year-old will find it hard to catch up and dethrone the Dutch pilot from the throne.
