“It’s like a cricket team” – Former F1 champion Damon Hill confident of Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez at Red Bull

“It’s like a cricket team” – The outspoken former champion Damon Hill chose a cricket analogy to stress the importance of Sergio Perez to Max Verstappen at Red Bull.

Damon Hill, always outspoken and articulate, has spoken out on Red Bull hiring Sergio Perez for 2021. Perez had the season of his life this year, winning his maiden F1 race. His incredibly consistent performances were enough for Red Bull to splash the cash and demote Alex Albon in the process.

And Damon Hill has given his thumbs up to the move, stressing Perez’s experience and consistency as what Red Bull need if they are to break the Mercedes monopoly. After two failed moves for young drivers Pierre Gasly and Albon, Red Bull seems to have finally hit the jackpot. Hill was speaking to Natalie Pinkham in her suitably titled ‘In The Pink’ podcast.

“I think Sergio, being more mature, having had more experience, I think he will be able to see what’s going on.”

“It’s very difficult for a young person who is beholden to Red Bull. Sergio’s life does not depend on Red Bull, so he will be able to act as a strong player within that team and they will have to listen to what he says because he has quite a lot of experience now – more than Max, don’t forget.”

“When you have a very talented driver, sometimes a team can go off on a tangent because the driver says ‘I like that’ and sometimes the driver can be wrong. Sometimes a driver can have so much natural talent they can drive anything, it doesn’t matter how bad it is, they can still make it go quick. But that doesn’t necessarily mean they are going in the right direction with the car.”

A cricket team mentality required to win an F1 championship

Damon Hill believes Alex Albon couldn’t be the desirable partner to Max Verstappen. He was considerably off the Dutchman’s pace, despite equally strong machinery. Hill concludes by using a brilliant cricket analogy to describe the partnership Red Bull desperately need at the moment if they are to win again since they did with Sebastian Vettel in 2013.

“It’s like a cricket team, you need someone who’s going to score a hundred, someone who will be able to protect the wicket and come back with something at least.”

“There was a bit of uncertainty with Alex and for whatever reason, it’s very difficult in that team for a team-mate [to Verstappen].”

Also read: “That is just an invention of some people” – Red Bull owner trashes rumours of Thai partners pushing for Alex Albon over Sergio Perez