This year, Sergio Perez is the only Formula One driver to beat Max Verstappen so far. In the first four races, the two Red Bull drivers won a couple of races each. On a couple of occasions where Checo won, Max came second. Hence, the worst performance for the Dutchman this season has been in Baku and Jeddah, where he finished at P2. But what if the rumor is true that RB19 is more in sync with Max Verstappen? Perhaps that’s why the gap between Max and Checo is getting so big every race.
However, Sergio Perez is trying to redeem himself as he has a few podium finishes lately. Despite that, after 14 races this season, everybody knows how it is going to end. Red Bull will win back-to-back constructor titles, and Max Verstappen will win his third consecutive driver’s world championship. That is why the avid fans of the motorsport are now questioning the team’s biases for Verstappen. However, recently, a Red Bull representative resolved this fans’ query.
Red Bull Engineer Believes Sergio Perez & Max Verstappen’s RB19 Setup Are Pretty Close
Paul Monaghan, the Red Bull’s Chief Engineer, recently told the media that the difference in the car’s setup was greater in 2021. The gap between Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez was far greater in 2021. Moreover, it is not unusual that drivers would want some subtle differences in their cars. For instance, Verstappen always wants his car to be on the nose with any turn that is responsive and sharp, which can create instabilities with the rear. But Monaghan made it clear that Checo is very close to his teammate in terms of preferences on the setup of this year’s car. Hence, it is easy to move forward with RB19’s design and structure.
Monaghan acknowledged that the two RB19 cars are very close to each other. The difference is far less than the 2021 cars of the Milton Keynes team. Moreover, as per the chief engineer, the team believes in the mantra “One race at a time.” Hence, they are not yet thinking about a complete sweep this season. Apparently, a lot of factors play some notable differences, like the weather. It is a highly competitive environment in F1, and there is a lot of pressure for P1, P2, and P3 sessions.
If The Setup Is Close, Then How Checo Has Fallen So Far Behind?
At this point, everybody is wondering how Checo was able to beat his teammate on a couple of occasions. It is when other drivers have such a hard time doing it. The only logical inference is the Red Bull car, RB19. It is indeed the fastest car on the grid and has remained unbeaten so far. Hence, the new question was why Sergio Perez could not repeat the same feat he accomplished in Baku and Jeddah elsewhere.
This question raises new rumors that suggest the Austrian team built RB19 on Max Verstappen’s preference. That’s the reason why Checo could not hold on to his success in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix and the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. Instead, Verstappen went on to win ten consecutive races since the Miami Grand Prix. The Miami GP was indeed the turning point in the season. As it was when Checo started fading away, and Max got complete dominance.