Max Verstappen stepped into Red Bull in 2016 and established himself as one of the best drivers in Formula One. As a result of his success, the champ secured a permanent position at Red Bull. He is clearly the lead driver of Red Bull. Others may come and go, but no one could ever put Max under his shadow. Meanwhile, in 2021 Sergio Perez joined Red Bull as the teammate of the now two-time world champion. He is a good driver indeed. But so far, he could only make four GP wins, while Max got two world titles with his presence.
Although Checo does get some of the credits for Max’s spectacular win. Apparently, Checo had Vertappen’s back every time he won. But unfortunately, the Mexican driver has to face severe comparison with his teammate oftentimes. Recently, one of the former MacLaren driver Juan Pablo Montoya came out to say that Max Verstappen is a level above Checo.
Last season, Red Bull made the most powerful car on the grid. Adjusting well to the new ground floor effects, the team developed RB18 which provided them the constructor’s win after eight years. Max Verstappen clinched 15 Grand Prix wins, while Sergio Perez could only achieve two wins with the same Red Bull car. This analysis has made many of the Formula One personality compare both drivers.
“Checo Is Not At The Same Level As Max Verstappen”
However, no one intends to say that Checo is not a good driver because initially, in the 2022 season, he did comparatively better than Max. But then Max was brought up to the highest. Speaking with the Motorsports, Juan Pablo Montoya said, “Looking at the beginning of the year, Max did not feel comfortable, and Checo could drive him. You can find that Perez was faster than Verstappen.” But the question, “is Checo better than Max? Gets a negative answer. Montoya said, “The truth is No! Checo is a very good driver. But he is not at the same level as Max. But he could drive it, and Max could not.”
Nevertheless, when max Verstappen won the 2022 championship in Suzuka, One could see how Checo had Max behind. During the rain-shortened race, Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc were leading the finish battle, but Sergio Perez came from behind and Moved Leclerc off the track. That was when Max paved his way to the second title. So basically, the one credit for Verstappen’s win simply goes to Sergio Perez.
Red Bull And Mercedes Doing Great In Developing The Cars, Helping The Drivers
However, in the interview, Juan Pablo Montoya also claimed that the way the team builds up the car during the season is responsible for the driver’s wins. Praising Red Bull and Mercedes for going through the upgrades in terms of increasing the car’s performance. He said, “That is where the team does a really good job. They simply understand what the driver needs and make the car better.”
Pavlo thinks it is really very cool like one can see how the Red Bull was not made in accordance with Max, which was later molded into his comfortable design. Speaking of Red Bull, he said, “the team always went through progress proving that they can really develop a car.” And for Mercedes, it feels the same. Juan said, “The development rate of Mercedes is in a different league as compared to any other team.”