“He closer to Verstappen,” Ralf Schumacher says Sergio Perez is “closer” to Max Verstappen

Max Verstappen had a rocky start to the 2022 Formula One season. The Red Bull driver will be defending his 2021 Formula One World Championship crown this season. But with a level playing field caused by new regulation cars, The competition for the Dutchman has become tighter

After valiantly battling with the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc, Verstappen was forced to retire in the Bahrain Grand Prix. But the Dutchman got the better of his rival in the next race, winning the Saudi Arabian GP by a margin of half a second after starting 4th on the grid.

But former Formula One driver Ralf Schumacher has stated that his teammate Sergio Perez looks much stronger this season than his season. Despite having bad luck, Schumacher believes that the Mexican could have “finished on the podium” as he was faster than his teammate.

Also Read: “I am focused on giving the best results,” Sergio Perez clarifies…

Sergio Perez was instrumental in Max Verstappen’s 2021 title-winning race

Sergio Perez shared the same fate as teammate Max Verstappen and was forced to retire early in the Bahrain GP due to fuel Pump related issues. He stormed ahead and claimed his first Pole position ahead of the Saudi Arabian GP. But after an erroneous early pit-stop, he was relegated to 4th position behind the Ferrari’s of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz. He finished the race in the same position while Max claimed victory.

Ralf Schumacher wrote in his column for Sky Germany, “At Red Bull, you can see Perez is now closer to Verstappen. A lot has changed there this season, Perez had a lot of bad luck with the Safety Car in Saudi Arabia. He was in front and had the pace. Whether it would have been enough for victory, I’m not sure. But he would certainly have finished on the podium.”

He added, “With Verstappen, it was noticeable in Jeddah that he tried to overtake three times before Turn 27, although Leclerc was then always able to fight back with DRS on the start-finish straight. I was a bit surprised. I thought Verstappen made a big step in the right direction last year with overtaking manoeuvres. In Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, he didn’t do that so well.”

Sergio sits 7th in the Drivers standings ahead of the 2022 Australian GP, 13 points behind teammate Verstappen on 3rd. Sergio has proven to be a great asset for Red Bull. He was instrumental in Max’s 2021 title-winning race where he blocked Lewis Hamilton from running away with the title. And Red Bull will be utilising its strengths wisely throughout the season.

Also Read: “We have respect for each other,” Sergio Perez opens up on…