Sergio Perez Describes His Role as Max Verstappen’s Teammate at Red Bull as the Most Challenging in Formula 1
Sergio Perez acknowledges that being Max Verstappen’s teammate at Red Bull presents one of the most demanding challenges in Formula 1, despite having a contract in place until 2024. The intense global media scrutiny and predictions of his eventual downfall have weighed on Perez.
Former F1 driver Christijan Albers, speaking to De Telegraaf newspaper, noted, “Even though he can study Max’s data, he struggles to narrow the performance gap, which is, in fact, widening. At some point, they’ll realize it’s impossible to keep justifying this. The story will have to come to an end. Given how harsh (Christian) Horner and (Helmut) Marko were towards (Nyck) de Vries, it surprises me that they persist with Perez.”
Perez himself admitted to feeling the pressure, stating at a Ford event in Mexico, “When something like this happens at Red Bull, you immediately have 300 media channels telling you that you have to leave. I have a feeling that being Mexican also plays a significant role. We saw with (George) Russell when he crashed from third place on the last lap in Singapore, but nobody was suggesting he should leave.”
Comparing his situation to that of George Russell, who is Lewis Hamilton’s teammate at Mercedes, Perez expressed his belief that partnering with Verstappen is even more challenging. He admires Verstappen’s ability to consistently extract the maximum performance from the car, highlighting Max’s work ethic and understanding of his success.
Perez noted, “Max performs at the highest level consistently, which is truly admirable. He is a dedicated worker who comprehends why he is successful. If something goes wrong, he can pinpoint the reasons. It takes time to adapt to that, and history has shown that being Max Verstappen’s teammate is no easy task. There are few drivers who can handle that level of pressure. I sometimes refer to it as the most challenging job in Formula 1.”
