“It’s Not Easy”: Sergio Perez Details the Challenges of Being 2x World Champion Max Verstappen’s Teammate

The Mexican GP capped off what has been a fairytale record-breaking season for Dutchman Max Verstappen. But his 14th victory of the season came at a cost – the cost being a fairytale homecoming for Red Bull’s Mexican driver, Sergio Perez who is a Guadalajara native.

Sergio Perez joined the ranks of Red Bull in 2021 after stints with Sauber, McLaren, and then Force India, which was rebranded as Racing Point in later years. His earlier stints were largely unremarkable to put it simply, but things turned around massively for him as soon as he joined Red Bull.

His first season ended with a WDC for Red Bull, their first since Sebastian Vettel won it in 2013. Moreover, Perez finished 4th in the WDC standings, his highest finish (shared with his 4th place finish in 2020 racing for Racing Point). He had shown the world why Red Bull chose to bring him in.

2022 has been similar in terms of performance for the Mexican. Currently, he is fighting for 2nd place on the WDC with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. Perez created a 5-point gap between him and Leclerc with his P3 finish in his home GP.

However, it could have been more poetic if he would have won it at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez. But he wasn’t morose about it. Reflecting on the season, he said “It is very challenging to be Max’s teammate. It’s not easy because he obviously wins a lot from you. But it is incredibly instructive. There is no one-size-fits-all recipe to win from him. He is so all-round and very stable.”

Read More: “The Sky is the Limit”: Max Verstappen Leaves the Women In His Life Emotional After Writing History at Mexican GP

When your partner regularly beats the odds and breaks records for fun it is difficult to keep up. But Perez has done well. 2023 will be another opportunity for him to have a crack at the title.

Could Sergio Perez have finished closer to Max Verstappen in Mexico?

Red Bull didn’t have too much pressure riding on their shoulders as they had already wrapped up the WDC and WCC in Japan and Austin, respectively. But Sergio Perez was the one looking for a good finish in his quest for P2 on the WDC.

Perez however could only manage a P3. He was leapfrogged by Lewis Hamilton, who himself is searching for his first victory of the season. While the race winner was a comfortable 15 seconds ahead, Perez was only 3 seconds behind. Looking back at the race, could those 3 seconds have been covered up in some manner?

Sergio believed so, “I did my best today and pushed really, really hard. Unfortunately, we had a little bit of a slow stop which ruined the undercut on Lewis and overtaking was really difficult. As soon as I got behind him, it was really difficult to follow. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out for us today, but it is still a good podium.”

Watch This Story: How Sergio Perez Leaked His Contract Announcement

His P3 gave him enough to create a gap between himself and Leclerc. With Brazil and Abu Dhabi remaining, Perez will be hoping to build on his performances and finish his career-best P2.