Sergio Perez proved again to Red Bull why he deserves that seat after the flying lap in Saudi Arabia. The power in his car is strong enough to take him to the win, but the biggest hurdle for him will be standing alongside him: Fernando Alonso. Living the time of his life, the Spaniard extracted the best out of his car, and with his experience, it would be a pain for the Mexican, as he’d be eyeing his 100th pole.

Back-to-back polesitter in Saudi Arabia, Checo can’t leave any margins for Fernando given his prowess, which puts him second to none, even Max Verstappen. And during the post-qualifying interview, he acknowledged just that.

As reported by F1 Maximaal, the Red Bull driver said, “A lot of things can happen. We showed that last year when I was in the lead in the race. We thought nothing could happen, but then I dove in and there was a safety car. He will fight like a lion. It won’t be easy to keep him behind me.”

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The crashes that brought out safety cars spoiled Sergio Perez’s race last year. This time, however, the team’s entire focus must be on him to keep his place secure, while Max Verstappen will be making his way to the front of the grid.

Fernando Alonso not focusing on challenging Sergio Perez 

Red Bull’s deadly pace is a really badly kept secret. This is reflected in Alonso’s statement, as he doesn’t see himself challenging Sergio Perez for the race win despite having more than a decent car with himself. Probably he just likes to be real.

As quoted by Formula 1, “I don’t think so, I don’t think so. I don’t want to sound pessimistic but if we see the pace, the whole weekend in free practice, if we see the Bahrain race, we have to be honest with ourselves and know that Red Bull is a little bit ahead of everyone so that’s not, let’s say, the target tomorrow, you know, to fight for the win with Checo [Perez].”

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The main race will also prove to be a litmus test for Red Bull’s pace and reliability. After Max’s power failure, the team will be keeping an eye on Checo’s car, as the horrors of the last season have come to light.