Perez Innocuous to ‘Confident’ Max Verstappen’s F1 Championship Charge Despite Recent Red Bull Claims

Sergio Perez is having a wonderful season with Red Bull! The Mexican driver has been putting on some convincing performances and is fresh off a win. Though his incredible pace doesn’t bother Max Verstappen, according to Helmut Marko, he sits just 15 points behind and has arguably turned this season into a sudden three-horse race for the championship.

Red Bull asked Perez to let Verstappen through in Spain, much to the dismay of both Perez and many fans. During Monaco, however, the Mexican was faster than his teammate and presented a dominating front. Later on, in a crucial tyre judgement scenario, the driver was sharp as a tack as he undercut Charles Leclerc and landed the lead.

Red Bull boss says Max Verstappen remains unscathed by Sergio Perez

While Perez has been performing excellently throughout, Monaco really solidified him as a genuine threat. However, despite Perez’s recent charge, Marko believes that his teammate Verstappen remains unruffled. He revealed, “On the Friday before the Monaco GP we extended with him. In fact, he was extra motivated after that. With such a driver duo it is a real pleasure, now that we already have five wins this year. Max stays calm, he’s confident enough.” (Google Translate) 

Perez’s consistency and even arguable talent to be a future world champion has helped secure a recent contract extension. In fact, boss Christian Horner has even announced, “He’s in this championship just as much as Max is.” This practically means that the team is giving a chance to Perez who is certainly capable of winning a title.

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However, Perez is not the only threat to Verstappen’s lead. Ferrari arguably have made a better car despite falling short on strategies. Team lead, Leclerc has been dominant in the qualifying sessions. Though the Monegasque continuously faces tough bad luck in races, he is not to be written off.

This could still be anyone’s race

With 15 races still to go, even Mercedes, who have looked out of sorts, are becoming a threat. Though they’ve not managed to catch up with Ferrari’s pace, their recent upgrades have given others a warning. Even Marko concluded, “Their car is getting faster every day, their top times are already at our level or even better. So you really can’t write them off. If Mercedes suddenly dominates everything again, Hamilton will come back.”

With seven titles under Hamilton‘s belt, he possibly only awaits a better car. Team mate George Russell has also given some of the best performances of the season, marking both drivers as very big comminations.

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Who do you think will run away with the 2022 season? Will luck favor Verstappen, Perez, or a third party?