When Red Bull signed Sergio Perez in 2021, they hoped he can be the perfect teammate to Max Verstappen. Since then, the Mexican has shown some good performances over the two seasons. Although, he hasn’t been able to get in the championship fight as his Dutch teammate.

Perez feels it has been due to the car being developed toward Max’s direction. Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko calls Checo’s claims to be “nonsense” and explained their car development in 2022.

Dr. Marko reacted to the claims of the RB18 being developed to Verstappen’s liking. As per Auto Motor und Sport, he said, “Of course that’s nonsense. The main problem was being overweight. We’re still a little over it now.” [translated via Google Translate] The purpose of the car development upgrades was to lower the weight of the car and not to match Max’s driving style, claimed Marko.

Upon being pressed on whether the 2022 season’s success is due to the driver or the car, Marko replied, “It depends on both. You saw in the early stages of the season that Max was as fast as Perez in a car that didn’t suit his driving style. If the car fits, it’s half a second faster.”

To be fair, Perez has driven brilliantly at some of the races in the 2022 season. He put the RB18 in pole position, beating Verstappen in qualifying at Saudi Arabia, which has been his Achilles’ heel. While Checo excelled on the streets of Monaco and Singapore in changeable conditions to pull off masterful victories under pressure.

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Still, the former Racing point driver feels he can do more. With the 2022 title sealed by Verstappen, Checo will hope to fight in 2023, given the car suited him more.

What has Sergio Perez said about his 2022 season and the RB18?

Despite winning three Grand Prix with the Milton Keynes squad since 2021, Checo thinks he has more to offer. When asked when his 2022 title bid fell apart, Perez said, “I think Austria. That’s where I got hit by George. We were closest in the championship and that was a massive blow, and from there we had a couple of races that were difficult for us.”

When pressed about whether he feels the development of the RB18 was in his teammate’s direction, the Mexican said, “I think probably so. There are times when some upgrades are more or less beneficial and come with the handling.”

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“We’ve seen that with a lot of other drivers and I think the way we developed the car was more in Max’s direction. But as a team, we managed to understand that well and I really hope together we can avoid these things in the future.” Checo will hope his improved performance over 2021 can lead Red Bull to develop the car more to his style too.

The Austrian team has been efficient and successful over the years by prioritizing one of their two drivers. They potentially did it with Vettel and Webber back in 2010-2013, and now with Verstappen. However, they experienced a torrid phase, when Webber fought intensely with Vettel.

Anyways, when Red Bull called, it was Perez’s first chance in years to drive for a top team in F1. While he has added to his wins and podiums tally, the Mexican retains his World Championship ambitions. We still have to wait and watch what he produces in 2023. Do you think Checo can match Max and fight for the championship in 2023?