Red Bull sealed their sixth constructors’ championship win in Suzuka on Sunday, but Sergio Perez suffered what was arguably his worst weekend of the season. His disastrous performance led to a bizarre double DNF, and critics started bashing him as soon as the race ended. Amidst all this, senior F1 journalist Peter Windsor, on his YouTube channel, had some kind words for Perez and his contribution to Red Bull creating history.
From the very get-go this season, it was clear that Red Bull would emerge victorious. For Perez, those were happy days, because after four races, he was on par with Max Verstappen in the championship standings. However, things began to unravel as the year progressed, and are now worse than ever.
Six times. 👑👑👑👑👑👑 #GivesYouWings pic.twitter.com/20vTYsKaQx
— Oracle Red Bull Racing (@redbullracing) September 24, 2023
A fact that F1 fans keep bringing up is the fact that Verstappen, with his 400-point tally, could have won Red Bull the constructors title single-handedly. In other words, a portion of the F1 community nullified whatever contribution Perez had.
Peter Windsor feels Sergio Perez has been a good teammate
It is true that Verstappen alone has outscored Mercedes, Ferrari, and Aston Martin so far this season. However, to discount Perez’s efforts would be unfair to the Guadalajara-born driver, who did rake in two wins, and multiple podium finishes this season. This is something Windsor spoke about in his YouTube video.
“He played a role, of course,” he said. “He has won races, he has tested and developed a lot, and he has also been a good teammate for Verstappen if you don’t count his comments at the beginning of the season. The reality is that with what he can do, Perez has made sure that Verstappen can become a constructors’ champion with Red Bull.”
However, Windsor also criticized Perez for failing to put up a better fight this season. This comes especially considering the fact that Perez had the RB-19 – one of F1’s most dominant cars ever – at his disposal. Verstappen meanwhile, can secure the world title in the very next race.
How can Max Verstappen win the championship in Japan?
Last year, Verstappen secured his drivers’ title in Japan. This time too, the team will leave happy, but after confirming their constructors” title. Verstappen has to wait at-least another two weeks before he can call himself a three-time world champion.
However, what he has to do to retain his crown shouldn’t be too difficult considering his level this season. The next race weekend takes place in Qatar, which will host F1’s penultimate Sprint race of the season. There, all Verstappen has to do to secure his third championship is win the Sprint race.
