Since he achieved it at Silverstone, Sergio Pérez has not been on the podium again in the three races with which he has finished the first half of the season, aware that the differences with Verstappen are minimal.
When everything seemed lost for Sergio Pérez At the end of the 2020 season together with a Racing Point that was going to change completely to become Aston Martin with Lance Stroll and Sebastian Vettel in his place, the one from Guadalajara received a call from Red Bull that became his salvation.
However, the Mexican driver had to share a garage with a whole devourer of teammates: Max Verstappen, a beast who neither Pierre Gasly first nor Alexander Albon later could get close enough to convince the energy drink team to bet on his continuity.
“Every time it’s different”
In 2021, Pérez garnered the second victory in his sports career in Baku, the first at the hands of Red Bull, but, on the other hand, he failed to get ahead of Verstappen in none of the races where they both ended up seeing the checkered flag.
2022, the revolution… half
This tone changed radically at the beginning of this season, with a whole new generation of single-seaters to explore, to which he adapted better than a Verstappen he has been in for 7 years, although a better position for Pérez did not arrive until Monaco than that of his partner with both completing all the laps, in the Principality.
“I think being in my second year with the team and change of regulation It has definitely helped me, “acknowledged Pérez. “It’s been a good improvement, I’m more comfortable in the car this season,” he added.
Nevertheless, 85 points they are separated after the 13 races of the first half of the year after everything has returned more or less to normal: half a second difference between the two in qualifyingon averagewith a head-to-head that goes 10-3 for Verstappen, a fact that does not improve in the race.
Does this difference respond to the way each one fine-tunes the RB18? “Some weekends we are extremely close each other, and in others not so much. If we look at the way we apply the accelerator and how we brake, that is the biggest difference between us, “Perez revealed, admitting that the tastes of both are significantly different.
Verstappen tends to prefer a car with more oversteer than the other way around, but Pérez doesn’t see much to gain from that. «Beyond that I find it very hard to figure out what the difference is between drivers in terms of driving styles, because every time it’s different,” he added.
It is known to all that the evolutions Red Bull have sat better on Verstappen’s side, with a developing that has not affected the duo equally. “We both pushed the direction of the car,” said Pérez. “At the end of the day, the team is taking care of development and we are pushing hard, trying to get the most out of it every weekend.”
“It would be good to improve everything and try to be a little more complete in all areas”, he concluded, focused on improving the balance of the single-seater from the Belgian Grand Prix, where the new anti-pouring of the FIA.
Font: RacingNews365
