Having been a teammate of Red Bull ace Max Verstappen for the past two seasons, Sergio Perez claims that there is not one driver on the grid who could beat the Dutchman in the same car.
Verstappen has won his 2nd championship title at the Japanese GP and helped win his team their first contructors title since 2013.
The 24-years-old has shown a spectacular performance both going up against the 7-time world champion Lewis Hamilton in 2021 and ending Mercedes’ domination in the sport.
What a team 👏 pic.twitter.com/qnVWtNyCQm
— Max Verstappen (@Max33Verstappen) October 31, 2022
Meanwhile, Perez stands in P2 in the championship with 280 points and is in close competition with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc in P3 with 275 points.
The Mexican said that it is a great challenge to be Verstappen’s teammate. He explained that Verstappen is operating at the maximum level throughout the weekend from FP1 to the race.
Max Verstappen is very solid with the Red Bull team
The Dutchman made his debut in F1 with the Milton-Keynes-based team in the 2016 season and has extended his contract to stay with the team until 2028 after winning his maiden title in 2021.
Perez knows that staying with a team and maintaining such a long stint has its own kinds of merits. It brings understanding between the driver and his crew/engineers and also faith and trust.
The Mexican who joined Red Bull at the beginning of 2021 after abruptly ending his contract with Racing Point(now Aston Martin) suggested that Verstappen’s strength also comes from him being very solid with the team.
And therefore, Perez is still trying to learn and do stuff that the Dutchman is doing in order to be stronger.
Also Read: Sebastian Vettel hopes Max Verstappen will set a new record at the end of season
The Dutchman on road to setting a new record
Out of 20 rounds of racing in the current season, Red Bull’s RB18 has won 16 races. Of which only 2 have been claimed by Perez and the rest have seen Verstappen rise among the elites of the F1.
With 14 race wins in one championship season, the Dutchman has eclipsed the previous record of 13 wins in a season which was jointly held by Sebastian Vettel and Michael Schumacher.
Heading into the last two races of the season with a strong car and an even stronger mindset, it looks like Verstappen will set a brand-new record with 16 wins in a season.
However, he seems to face a challenge from Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton at the next race, Brazil GP as the Brackley-based team has found a bit of performance in their car in the past two races.
Also Read: Red Bull to launch investigation on 5-second pitstop that cost Sergio Perez P2 in Mexico