There might’ve been doubts, there might’ve been some bias and there was definitely some overlooking. However, after the Azerbaijan GP, Sergio Perez silenced all his doubters and balanced the bias while demanding equal attention. The win in Baku was also important to showcase Perez’s intent to fight for the championship against Max Verstappen. However, despite putting every step in the right direction, there were still some doubters who labeled his win as a lucky break in maintaining his wingman image. However, an expert silenced said doubters during the Baku debrief, destroying his wingman perception.

During the debrief in the F1: Chequered Flag podcast, Jaguar Formula-E driver, Sam Bird, suggested Perez was “gifted” the lead. However, the Mexican was quickly defended, and his overall weekend performance received huge praise.

“He was gifted the lead but the only reason why he didn’t lead the following lap anyway is because Verstappen came in the pits. He was in DRS and about to overtake Max Verstappen anyway, in my opinion,” said Bird.

Podcast host Jack Nicholls questioned his opinion and asked, “You reckon that, that straightforwardly?” To this, the former Bird replied, “Yeah, I think he was that close. It was very was very close between them at the time. So you could say he was gifted it. I think he won this race on merit. He drove really well. I think he’s had the measure of Max Verstappen. It’s been so close, but he has had the measure of Max Verstappen over the course of the weekend. On outright pace and on race performance. His tire longevity has been really strong. So I think it’s a fully deserved and not a lucky win at all. He deserved to win this Grand Prix.”  

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However, winning one or two races isn’t enough. To go the distance, Perez will have to perform every race weekend because, as it turns out, his fight is with the entire Red Bull team and not just his teammate.

Sergio Perez has to fight the entire Red Bull team and not just Max Verstappen

We are not accusing Red Bull of any sort of favoritism towards the Dutchman. However, it was the comments by the advisor Helmut Marko that gave birth to such concerns. Additionally, the comments from the boss Christian Horner right after the chequered flag also added fuel to this fire. The comments wherein Horner assured Verstappen of the long season ahead and confessed how Perez got lucky with the safety car. Sky reporter Ted Kravitz criticized these comments as well.

“To my ears that sounds like Horner telling Verstappen: don’t worry Max, you’re still our man for the championship,” Kravitz said. “Pérez will probably think he can do everything he can to make it an exciting fight and that could just be it.”

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We are sure what is the situation in the Red Bull garage. However, Horner’s comments to Verstappen should concern Perez as gears up to fight his teammate for the championship.