Sergio Perez has arguably been an underrated figure in Red Bull’s recent success. From defending against rivals and giving Max Verstappen the required lead to switching places with his teammate without a fight, the Mexican has done it all without many complaints. Helmut Marko now looks to reward Checo by focusing on him to get the second-placed finish in the championship.

Red Bull drivers have now won the championship 6 times in F1. However, they have never achieved the rare feat of finishing 1-2 at the end of the season in the championship, even with the RB legend Mark Webber. Helmut Marko wants to change that as he titled Perez with the ‘vice world champion’ crown.

After a thrilling finish for the Mexican in the Japanese GP, he is 1 point ahead of Charles Leclerc. Moreover, the good news for Checo is that Ferrari will have no upgrades for the remainder of the season as per Mattia Binotto. Red Bull will be hoping for Sergio Perez to give it his all and finish P2.

Helmut Marko recalled on ServusTV, “We have now clinched six drivers’ world championship titles, but we have never had both drivers in the first two places at the end of a season. When you win, you always look to see if there’s still room for improvement,” [Translated from Google translate]

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Perez will also be targeting a win at his home race in Mexico. With only 4 rounds of racing left, it will be interesting to see if Leclerc can fend off Perez and Red Bull’s challenge.

Sergio Perez reflects on the Japanese GP battle with Charles Leclerc

Who doesn’t like a last-lap fight under the rain? Sergio Perez and Charles Leclerc provided us with just that at the end of the Japanese GP. Leclerc held off the Mexican but was later penalized with a 5 seconds penalty. This gave Sergio Perez the P2 position and also the lead of 1 point ahead of Leclerc in the driver’s standing.

Perez revealed how he patiently waited for Leclerc to make a mistake in the ending stages of the race. Sergio said, “I could see that he was managing well his race [and] his tires, once he ran out of them, he was making it really hard, you know. So I knew that the only way I could get him was if I pushed him into a mistake.”

Perez further added, “Towards the end, I thought there was one more lap left, so when he went off, I thought that was going to be the opportunity, but it didn’t happen. [In the end] we managed to get a good result for the team and a great one-two.”

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F1 returns next week with the US GP in Austin. Max Verstappen will be the firm favorite going into the race once again. However, it will be interesting to see if Red Bull prioritizes Checo ahead of the Dutch driver. Do you think Checo will complete a 1-2 finish for Red Bull at the end of the season?