Red Bull driver Sergio Perez displayed a glimmer of hope that he could beat Max Verstappen to win his first F1 title this year after winning in Saudia Arabia and Azerbaijan. But somewhere in the middle, he lost his touch again. Now, Max is already ahead of Checo by two race wins. However, Red Bull has nothing to worry about, as both of their drivers are the only favorites to win the championship this year.
Moreover, Red Bull has won all six races that have happened so far this season. Clearly, they are way ahead of the rest of the teams in contention. Specifically, Red Bull is 129 points and 130 points ahead of the second-placed Aston Martin and the third-placed Mercedes after the six races. Hence, the Austrian team is as close as it can get to grabbing the constructor’s title. But the driver’s championship is still open for both Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez. The Dutchman is 39 points ahead of Checo at present. But a lot of blame is coming on Sergio Perez for not maintaining consistency from the start of the F1 season. Despite this, the Mexican driver is more than sure to challenge this year’s favorite driver and his teammate for the world champion title.
Sergio Perez Feels He Can Beat His Teammate
Since Checo is a favorite on the street-style circuits, everybody expected him to do well in Monaco last weekend. But sadly, he had a terrible qualifying session. Hence, Checo had to start from the last position in the main race. And hence, he barely managed to finish at P16. ‘Checo’ Perez had a similar outing in Australia, where he had trouble in the qualifying session and could not get a podium finish. In Australia, the Red Bull driver finished at P5. Despite this, Sergio Perez believes that he can turn things around this year.
When asked about his chances to lead the drivers’ standings this year, Perez stated that “The objective is to have the belief that I can beat Max.” He feels that since the Austrian team is lucky to build the perfect car on the grid at present, it will benefit not just Max but him as well. Apparently, Verstappen did not have a bad race up till now this season. Thus far, he has not finished lower than P2. But Perez had a terrible Grand Prix in Monaco, where he earned no points. Helmut Marko, Red Bull advisor, also feels that Max Verstappen never really saw Checo as a threat to his title.
Everybody Knows Red Bull Favors Max Verstappen, Over Checo
There is a popular opinion among F1 fans that Red Bull favors Max Verstappen over Sergio Perez. However, the Dutchman has proved to be the most dominant racer in the team as well as the grid. Even Checo claims that it is very challenging to be Max’s teammate. This is because the reigning champion is able to do well in any circuit or on any track. Helmut Marko also mentioned that “When I compared Max with Ayrton Senna a few years back, people laughed at me. Now those naysayers and know-it-all people have to eat my words.”
Max Verstappen is winning races as easily as he likes. On the other hand, Sergio Perez needs to check what he has been doing wrong that led to the failure in Monaco and act accordingly. But currently, the way things stand, there is a chance that Red Bull may win all the races this season.