Despite Sergio Perez’s Improvements, Max Verstappen’s Imperfect Lap is the Main Reason for Mexican’s Stellar Qualifying Performance

Let’s go back in time and rewind last season. Four races into the 2023 season, both Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez had two wins each to themselves. But it was only then that the Dutchman unleashed his full potential and left Checo for dust. On the other hand, the latter himself fell off the pedestal and failed to qualify for Q3 multiple times in a row. 2024 began the same way. 2023 ended with Verstappen beating Perez; however, the gap seems to have closed down, especially at the Japanese GP.

But don’t be fooled by the result of the Japanese GP qualifying. It was only Max Verstappen’s average lap that led to Checo getting somewhat close to the Dutchman. Loads of questions were asked about whether Sergio Perez would be replaced by another driver for the Red Bull seat. Perez’s three P2 finishes have silenced the rumors, but still, the Mexican isn’t able to beat the Dutchman and is nowhere near his pace, except for what we saw in the Japanese GP qualifying.

Sergio Perez qualified P2 for the Japanese GP. However, he only missed out on the pole by 0.066 seconds, as Max Verstappen again took the pole. Many considered the Japanese GP performance to be one of Checo’s strongest performances in recent times. But what many fail to consider is the fact that Max Verstappen did not have a great final lap in Q3 at Suzuka and, as a result, wasn’t able to improve much. 

Peter Windsor brought up the same point in his Live on YouTube as he said, “I think that Checo is doing a better job now. I think the RB20 has a bigger sweet spot than the RB19. I think that with those Pirelli’s, it was quite difficult on the soft tire to get the lap absolutely perfect. I don’t think that Max got the perfect lap there. But having said that, Checo was pretty near him all weekend.”

Sergio Perez needs to keep up this run of good performance if he wants to continue his F1 future at Red Bull. Regardless, Perez does seem like the perfect second driver for Red Bull. Let’s see why.

Martin Brundle on Sergio Perez in the team, “Perfect Driver in that seat”

Having two very competitive drivers at a top team can be disastrous. Look at what happened at Mercedes with Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton in 2016 and Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost at McLaren in the late 80s. On the other hand, having a fast second driver who keeps the lead driver on their toes but doesn’t challenge him works well for a team. Like Mark Webber, Sebastian Vettel, and Valtteri Bottas-Lewis Hamilton. The same is the case with Perez and Verstappen. 

Talking about how Sergio Perez suits Red Bull, Martin Brundle said, “He’s the perfect driver in that seat at the moment. The reason why Sergio has been in the car so long is because he suits Red Bull and what they need at the moment, and I think that’s not particularly changed unless they think someone else has come in and they must take the opportunity.” 

Read More: Sergio Perez Vital for 2026 Regulation Changes, F1 Pundit Suggests Red Bull Will Favor Mexican’s Experience Over Youth

What do you make of Sergio Perez’s recent performances? Should Red Bull keep him or get another driver?