Red Bull driver Sergio Perez felt a lot of pressure to keep up with his teammate Max Verstappen in 2023. When Max is doing so well, naturally, questions arise about his teammate and why Checo can’t challenge him. It has been hard for the Mexican driver to handle the pressure. There were also talks about his replacement, Daniel Ricciardo, getting ready with the Alpha Tauri team. Perhaps at the end of the next season, Red Bull will replace Checo with the Aussie.
All these rumors did not do any good to Checo’s confidence level. He had to hire a mental coach to boost his self-confidence. There were even rumors about arguments and fights between Sergio Perez and Max Verstappen this year. But Checo denied such rumors and claimed that over the last two years, the chemistry between him and Max Verstappen has only improved. Moreover, Sergio Perez sees the growth in their relationship as a big factor in Red Bull’s success in recent times.
Sergio Perez Feels His Relationship With Max Verstappen Has Improved A Lot
Recently, Checo told the media, including RacingNews365, that after being part of the engineering and briefing processes for the last few seasons together, their relationship has been good. Moreover, Sergio Perez mentioned that the two drivers might push in different directions sometimes, but they sure ask for the same stuff. Anyway, coming at their third season together, the incredible success of the whole team has been a big positive. Moreover, Sergio Perez mentioned that, at present, he has a better understanding of the car and knows how to use it better on different tracks.
Checo believes he made a lot of progress with his engineering and the understanding of how to maximize the performance of the car. But Sergio Perez mentioned his teammate has been on another level compared to the last few seasons. Lately, in an interview with Sky Sports News, Christian Horner mentioned the second seat in his team will lose interest in 2024 because of stable regulations. It is not going to be the same next year. The Red Bull boss is expecting far more competition from other teams like Mercedes, McLaren, and Ferrari. These regulations won’t change before the 2026 season.
Red Bull Needs To Keep Providing The Fastest Car On The Grid To Maintain Their Hegemony
Red Bull had an incredibly dominating season. Clearly, they are the most dominant team in the grid at present. The main reason for their hegemony is the incredibly fast RB19 car. For the car, the credit should go to the car designer, Adrian Newey, and the engine partner, Honda. Due to the geniuses of Newey and their engine partner, the Austrian team has been dominating since the cost cap era began.
Last year, Red Bull won 17 races, and Max Verstappen won 15 of them. Sergio Perez only won a couple in 2022. And he did win the same number of races this year as well. However, the Dutchman improved his performance to win an unbelievable 19 Grand Prix in 2023. Clearly, he won his third title in a row. There has been no stopping or even catching up to the speed of the new Red Bull champion. Lately, he joined the elite group of three-time F1 champions.
