Perez Gets Advice From His Team Principal On How To Drive Alongside Verstappen
F1Monday, 13 November 2023 at 09:00
Updated at Monday, 13 November 2023 at 10:27
Red Bull Racing F1 team principal Christian Horner explained why Sergio Perez has "the hardest job in the paddock."
The most important comparison for every single driver is first to their teammate. The teammate is the only driver on the grid that is driving in equal machinery.
One driver who has been doing the worst in this comparison is Sergio Perez. Perez has the biggest point gap to his own teammate out of any driver on the grid.
Even though Checo is hanging in second place in the Drivers' Championship, he lacks 266 points on Max Verstappen with two races remaining in the season.
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Red Bull team principal Christian Horner defends Perez, saying he has done very well during the past three years to help the team. Speaking to Eff Won podcast, he said;
"Being a teammate of Max is the hardest job in the paddock. Checo has done a great job next to Max during the last three years."
One of Verstappen's most dominant performances this season has been the Japanese Grand Prix, where he finished almost 20 seconds ahead of Lando Norris in second place. Horner said:
"When you're looking at the data of what Max is doing, you've only got if you look at a race like Japan. The very first lap that Max does out of the pits is two seconds quicker than the rest of the field."
The Dutchman has recently been compared to the greatest drivers of the sport, like Michael Schumacher. His team principal says his speed is incomprehensible.
"And you're looking at that data, and you're thinking, ‘How has he done that? How has he done that?’ And so often, that will happen."
Many critics said that the main problem of Sergio Perez has been looking too much at Verstappen. Red Bull team principal agrees, saying:
"The problem is for Checo, he's trying to compare himself to Max, and what he needs to do is forget about Max."
The Mexican won two out of the first three races of the season, but then something happened. He started struggling and could not win ever since. Horner concluded
"[He needs to] just focus on himself, don't even look at his data. Just focus on being the best you can be. As we saw earlier in the year, some sometimes that can be good enough."
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