At the Austrian GP’s main spectacle on Sunday, Red Bull and Ferrari were the two teams fighting for the podium places. Max Verstappen was too far ahead to be caught up with and Carlos Sainz in P3 was told not to attack his teammate, Charles Leclerc in P2. So, in the latter stages of the race, Sainz was left battling with Sergio Perez for P3. After a tough battle, Perez finally overtook Sainz to clinch P3. But, after the race, Perez acknowledged that Ferrari was better than the Red Bull in one aspect.

Perez is regarded as having the best tire management during the race. And he has put it on display many a time. Though the Red Bull Ring promised lower degradation, the topic of traction did find a way in the post-race interview. Sainz and Perez fought thrice at Turn 3 and Turn 4, from Laps 59 to 61. After the third time, the Mexican racer successfully took P3 and held onto it till the end.

Perez might have had it relatively easier than Sainz because of the RB19. However, in the post-race interview, the 33-year-old said that the Ferrari had better traction in Turn 3 and Turn 4. According to F1 journalist Peter Windsor, if the king of tire management says something about traction, you believe it.

On his YouTube Channel, Windsor said, “It was interesting after the race to hear Perez say how good he thought the traction was of the Ferrari. This is Mr. Traction Sergio Perez, nobody to give an objective judgment on the traction of the car in front than Sergio Perez, ’cause he knows all about traction. And he said it was really good out of turn 3, and turn 4, for that matter.”

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Also, with this podium, Sergio Perez looks to have started his journey back to the front.

Sergio Perez Takes the First Step Of a Long Walk To Be Victorious Again

Sergio Perez got P3 in Spielberg and earned 16 valuable points for the team. If a non-F1 fan was to look at the WDC standings, they would naturally think Perez is the 2nd best driver on the grid. But his dismal run in the 4 races before the Austrian GP gave a different story. Nevertheless, he has silenced his critics after performing his best over this weekend.

The Mexican driver began the weekend with yet another Q2 knockout. But he did not let that dampen his spirits. Despite being ill, he stood on P2 in the Sprint Race. Moreover, it was his miraculous P15 to P3 climb on Sunday that again restored the team’s faith in him.

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With this podium, it looks like Perez has started his ascend to try and catch Verstappen. But that goal is still very away and now he has two Ferrari cars to battle with before he can reach his World Champion teammate.