Sergio Perez’s father: Red Bull move the ‘best thing’ to happen to Checo in F1
Sergio Perez's father, Antonio, backs his son to get even better, and also deems 'the relationship with Red Bull' as the best thing to happen to his son in the 'history of the sport'.
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Sergio Perez
Sergio Perez gave Max Verstappen a much greater challenge (than in 2021) last season, especially in the early races. The Mexican beat his teammate (and everyone else) to pole position in Jeddah and then won the Monaco GP a few races later. At that point, it seemed as if he will have a genuine shot at the title – but it soon faded away. While he got two P2 finishes in the next four Grands Prix, there were also two retirements.
Perez had to wait till Singapore (the 17th race of the season) for his second win. By then, the opportunity had slipped from his grasp. He had to settle for a P3 finish in the end, being narrowly beaten by Charles Leclerc (whose opportunity also slipped away). While he potentially could have gotten more, this was still the best season of his career – with his one (and only) pole position, 11 podiums, 2 race wins, and 305 points.
He will go again in 2023, and his father, Antonio Perez Garibay, backs him to become a world champion in the future. Sergio is already the most successful Mexican F1 driver of all time, but there is clearly still room for improvement. ‘Papa Perez’ acknowledges this, and in conversation with ESTO, said: “We haven’t seen the best of Checo Pérez yet. This is an experience that is difficult to repeat for Mexico and we have to enjoy it. Surely with the passage of time, Mexico will have a Formula 1 champion on its hands.”
Papa Perez: Past two years have been ‘the most important for Sergio Perez
Sergio Perez had a pretty decent career before his move to Red Bull, with the ‘cherry on top’ being his fantastic last-to-first victory in Sakhir 2020. But it’s easy to see that he has taken a further step up since moving to the Milton Keynes outfit. Antonio Perez even goes as far as to suggest that this move is the best ever thing to happen to him, in sports.
The 63-year-old said: “The best thing that has happened to him in the history of the sport has been his relationship with Red Bull. These two years have been the most important in all terms for him. Mexican fans are the best in the world. It is also important to never lose that humility because with the people [you have] everything, without the people [you have] nothing.”
The road to becoming a world champion will not be easy for Perez. First, he’ll have to beat Max Verstappen – not particularly easy for any driver. He may also receive stiff competition from drivers from Ferrari and Mercedes, so he will have to hold them off as well.
In case you missed it:
- Christian Horner blames Max Verstappen-Sergio Perez team orders saga in Brazil on a Red Bull ‘mistake’
- “The team is completely built around him,” Sergio Perez’s manager says why Verstappen has an advantage over him and why he should be careful
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Aniket Tripathi
(1002 Articles Published)