In Max Verstappen’s Shadow, Sergio Perez Plays by Party Lines As Red Bull Takes Control After Australia Misunderstanding

The Red Bull camp is increasingly turning into a place where lots of headlines are coming from with each passing day. After the latest dispute over sprint races involving the Austrian team, Sergio Perez is now adhering to party lines. So far this season, Sergio Perez is the lone driver challenging Max Verstappen. However, after winning at the Jeddah track, Checo attempted to take the lead at Albert Park, but fate had other plans for him, which completely cast him in Max Verstappen’s shadow.

The current driver standing has the reigning champion Max Verstappen, in the lead with 69 points, while Perez, who reduced the gap with Verstappen at the Jeddah track by just one point, remains 15 points behind the Dutchman. We all know what happened at the Australian Grand Prix, but the insights are what really make this sport fascinating.

Team Red Bull is renowned for being aggressive on and off the track by taking potshots at their rivals. But the side is also excellent at having its drivers abide by the guidelines they have set. Though Verstappen is an exception, the guidelines undoubtedly apply to Perez.

Perez protested to the squad after his third free practice was interrupted by the locking up under braking. Then he thought that perhaps the error had been “fixed” before the qualification. However, he quickly discovered that the issue persisted, ruining his prospects of giving Verstappen a hard time as his RB19 became trapped in the gravel in Q1 after locking his right front wheel.

He had to start his race on Sunday from the bottom as a result of this. Later, Perez was heard saying, “We had a bit of a technical issue from FP3 and we thought we fixed that, but we obviously didn’t.”

Both Christian Horner and Helmut Marko disagreed with him, claiming it was a “driver error” in response. The subject of what specifically happened to Perez’s quick RB19 remains unanswered. And when Checo was questioned about it, as reported by F1Maximaal, he was adamant that it was a technical error. Later, he responded diplomatically by toeing the party line.

He said, “Well, at least this is what I heard from my engineers. We are very transparent in the team and this is the feedback I have received. Sometimes different versions of a story come out, but in the end we are transparent and that is the most important thing.”

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The awful tragedy that happened to the Mexican driver in Albert Park is still fresh in his memory. However, Checo wants to overlook that in order to concentrate on the upcoming Baku race, where he has a stellar record.

Sergio Perez wants to focus on the upcoming Baku race

If Sergio Perez had had a strong qualifying, he was ready to provide the audience the thrill of witnessing a competitive battle with Max Verstappen. Though as things come to a close Checo maintains his upbeat outlook while stating that it is critical to “reset” and forget the weekend.

According to MSN, Checo said prior to the Baku race, “It obviously stays in the back of your mind, but you have to reset yourself and move on from that. ” It obviously stays in the back of your mind, but you have to reset yourself and move on from that.”

Later, when discussing if the upgrades the other teams are bringing are going to harm Red Bull’s chances, Perez said, “But of course everyone is working flat out and we’re also doing the same. So we’re not taking anything for granted. So hopefully we’re bringing some upgrades here and we hopefully are able to keep on top.”

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Given the advent of the Sprint format and the chaotic past of Azerbaijan, do you believe spectators will witness one of the wildest races in Baku?