Sergio Perez Exposes Max Verstappen’s Biggest Weakness
Max Verstappen’s ex-Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez has revealed a major charter trait that is both an advantage and big weakness for the Dutchman.
Follow Us
Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez (via IMAGO)
🔍 Explore this post with:
For four seasons, despite some controversies and drama, Sergio Perez was one of the most supportive as well as most competitive teammate Max Verstappen has had in Formula One. They have a strong mutual respect, despite the Mexican exiting the team in 2024 after a massive fall out amidst poor performance.
Ahead of his much-anticipated F1 return in 2026 with Cadillac, Sergio Perez has been making some bold statements on media about his time at Red Bull and relationship with Max Verstappen. In a recent podcast appearance, he talked about the mental stretch of the Dutchman and how he pushed himself as well as his crew more than anyone in the grid.
Max is a mentally super-strong driver. He has great confidence in himself. Incredible talent. Focused on the sport, on racing, on being the best driver, and he’s a huge force for the team. He pushes very hard.
Sergio Perez said via the Cracks Podcast (via RN365).
This factor makes Verstappen one of the best leaders in the team. But it’s not always positive, as the same attitude makes it tough for the four-time champion to cope with disappointing results on the track, making his biggest advantage his biggest weakness as well. This dichotomy makes Max Verstappen the dominant champion he is.
He’s a great leader in the team, and I think the bad is also his character. When things turn against him, he struggles a lot to deal with it. Well, like what happened in Barcelona — he blocks, he has that side that, well, I think if he didn’t have it, he wouldn’t be Max either.
Sergio Perez added.
Sergio Perez admits Max Verstappen is a different person inside the car
In the same conversation, Sergio Perez talked about how Max Versatppen transform as a person when he is driving a car. He recalled the 2023 Interlagos drama involving the two where the Dutchman refused to his teammate pass, and pointed out that it wasn’t because any animosity, as when racing Verstappen winning mentality takes over any other feelings.
When people — fans — complained that he hadn’t let me pass, that he didn’t reward what I had done for him. I’d say: ‘Come on, you have to have that attitude of wanting to win them all to be world champion.’ No, something happens with Max. Max is an excellent person, but something happens to him. When he’s in the car, he transforms — he’s a different person.
Sergio Peres said.
The Mexican pointed out that he was surprised, just like majority in the Red Bull garage when Verstappen refused to yield his position and recalled past incident that everyone thought they were over with. It showed how he kept tab on everything, to make sure he always gets a shot at winning.
And I think he had something in him that he never let out, because we talked about it — all the problems that year we talked, discussed, and thought it was behind us — the whole team thought. So, we were all surprised he brought it up at that moment.
Sergio Perez added.
The comments from the veteran racer shows the solid relationship he has with his former teammate and hoe despite the outside noise, they understand each other. It would be interesting to see how the battle of the duo is going to playout under new regulations in different cars in 2026.
Also Read: Sergio Perez Reveals the Shocking Therapy Bill During Life at Red Bull
/techfirstnow/media/agency_attachments/kATjCXskQdJKkXN0OuqW.png)