Max Verstappen reveals he never felt Sergio Perez could even catch up to him in 2023
Max Verstappen has given his opinion on whether his teammate Sergio Perez ever stood an actual chance to beat him in 2019.
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The 2023 Formula 1 season has been a long saga of Red Bull wins which got interrupted just because Carlos Sainz‘s outstanding performance at the Singapore GP took the Austrian team drivers by surprise. Throughout the entire year, Christian Horner‘s team got 21 Grand Prix victories out of the 22 races that were held, with Max Verstappen scripting history by winning 19 F1 races in total. And his teammate at Red Bull, Sergio Perez, who drove the same RB-19 as the Dutchman, could only get 2 wins and that too, at the very start of the year.
While Sergio Perez’s campaign started off in 2023 on a great note, his consistency fell apart later in the season. And even though, going into the Miami Grand Prix, he looked like he could equal Max Verstappen’s score and even overtake him, Checo ended up almost 300 points behind Max. This startling points difference between two racers of the same team has obviously raised eyebrows in F1 town, but Max Verstappen has clarified why he feels Sergio Perez never actually stood a chance against him.
Sergio Perez won two Grands Prix at the very first few months of F1 2023 when Max Verstappen ran into some bad luck in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia and in Baku, Azerbaijan. Speaking at a recent interview, Max has outlined why his teammate won those races and outscored him. He also explained why those wins mean nothing in the competition between him and Sergio Perez since Max could have easily outscored the Mexican at those Grands Prix if he had the chance.
I had to start from 15th place in Saudi Arabia. I was slightly penalised by the safety car in Baku. So from my perspective, it's not entirely fair to talk about it (the competition between Max and Sergio) being even. Because it wasn't like that from my point of view.Max Verstappen said about Sergio Perez’s chances against him, via X.
F1 pundit claims Max Verstappen might get a new teammate in 2025
Sergio Perez has managed to stay on as Max Verstappen’s teammate for three years since the 2021 F1 Championship. And in 2024, he is slated to continue his stint beside the three-time World Champion. But F1 pundit Lawrence Barretto has said there might be a shake-up in the Red Bull team structure in 2025.
He mentioned Daniel Ricciardo might finally make his epic Red Bull comeback to take up Sergio’s seat after leaving the same position back in 2018.
As it stands, it is believed Ricciardo tops senior management’s list of suitable replacements. The Australian will need to get back to his very best this year, and with many insiders feeling his AlphaTauri team will make a big step forward this year in terms of competitiveness, there’s a strong chance he’ll deliver.Lawrence Barretto said about Daniel Ricciardo, via X.
It must not be forgotten that Daniel and Max were teammates during the 2018 season when the Aussie racer felt he needed to move out before 2019. So, he took the ticket to Renault to pair up with Nico Hulkenberg while Alex Albon was hired to become teammates with Max Verstappen. Since then, the Honey Badger has switched teams some more times as he went to McLaren and then back to Red Bull in a reserve role. Currently, he is the regular driver for AlphaTauri where he replaced Nyck deVries mid-season through 2023.
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Riddhi Mondal
(1821 Articles Published)