“Oh my God, why are you helping”– Ex McLaren driver claims 20 years ago people would have destroyed Sergio Perez for helping Max Verstappen

Sergio Perez acted like an ideal deputy to Max Verstappen in 2021 to step up his championship chase against Lewis Hamilton.

Sergio Perez and Max Verstappen gave a formidable challenge to Mercedes this year. Though the Red Bull duo failed to win the constructors’ championship, Verstappen managed to bag the drivers’ championship.

And in that fight his partner Perez played a pivotal role. From, battling Lewis Hamilton from time to time to bringing in crucial points to keep Mercedes at their toes.

However, in between, Perez had to act more in the interest of his teammate instead of his own. Reacting to this, former F1 driver Joan Pablo Montoya feels, 20 years ago, this attitude by Perez would have decimated him.

“It’s funny now how people look at it from that angle,” Montoya told Motorsport TV. “‘Oh my God, it’s good that Checo got involved and helped Max’. And I think he did a very good job for Max.

“Twenty years ago, if the second driver did that, he would have been destroyed. And if Rubens (Barrichello) ever helped Michael (Schumacher), everyone said ‘oh my God, why are you helping Michael? You gave up a win, a position?’”

“And it was a big drama at the time, whereas today they say ‘oh, he helped him, he got in the way and it was good that he did it’. Those are points of view.”

Sergio Perez helping Max Verstappen understandable only from a single viewpoint

Montoya further claims that it’s only understandable to see Perez being so selfless when one is a Verstappen fan. However, it’s not digestible for Hamilton fans or neutrals.

“I don’t know, it’s pretty crazy. Honestly, I think if you were supporting Max you would think what ‘Checo’ did was sensational because it helped him. But if you were supporting Lewis or you were neutral, you would wonder why he got involved.”

About the author

Tanish Chachra

Tanish Chachra is the Motorsport editor at The SportsRush. He saw his first race when F1 visited India in 2011, and since then, his romance with the sport has been seasonal until he took up this role in 2020. Reigniting F1's coverage on this site, Tanish has fallen in love with the sport all over again. He loves Kimi Raikkonen and sees a future world champion in Oscar Piastri. Away from us, he loves to snuggle inside his books.

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