“Sometimes I could handle it and adapt, but…” Checo Pérez now feels free to talk about Red Bull

The four years that Sergio ‘Checo’ Pérez spent at Red Bull Racing were not easy at all. The Mexican driver joined the Anglo-Austrian team in 2021 and was dismissed at the end of last season.

During that period, Pérez achieved a world championship runner-up, five victories, three poles, and 29 podiums. Figures that contrast very negatively with those achieved by Max Verstappen, but that significantly improve those that Pierre Gasly and Alexander Albon achieved at the time, or more recently Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda.

“Whenever there was a variable with rain or wind, it simply became unmanageable”

Red Bull, a team for Max Verstappen

There has been much talk about Red Bull's dependence on Max Verstappen. Is it because only the four-time world champion is capable of performing with a mediocre car, or has it been developed for his particular driving style?

Sergio Pérez believes that the fact that the second driver achieves much lower results is simply due to “the whole team dynamic, they have a unique talent with Max [Verstappen] and when you get there, the development curve they have, it is very difficult for the second driver to adapt to the car”.

The new Cadillac driver points out that the Red Bull “is a very, very unique car, that requires a very unique driving style” that I managed to survive for many years, but it is difficult because of the way it works”

And to support his argument, Pérez recalls that Red Bull has gone many years without finding a truly competitive second driver. “You’ve seen it with great drivers before me and even after. I mean, I think Yuki [Tsunoda] and Liam [Lawson] have scored like five points [Tsunoda has seven, Lawson didn’t score], so it’s very difficult and very complicated”.

Pérez did better than it seemed

In addition to offering his view on the problem facing Red Bull, Checo Pérez has asserted his value as a driver. A value that, especially in his last two years with the Milton-Keynes team, was greatly damaged in the eyes of the paddock, press, and fans.

Pérez reiterates that Gasly, Albon, Lawson, and Tsunoda “are fantastic drivers, but the way to drive that car is very particular, and sometimes I could handle it and adapt, but whenever there was a variable with rain or wind, it simply became unmanageable. Then you start making mistakes one after another, you start losing confidence”

“But mentally I was super strong, and that’s why I survived there for so long”. I had a lot of pressure and many media outlets pounced on me, and now you realize the work I did with that car and with that team,” concludes the Mexican.

Fuente: Racingnews365.comFotos: Red Bull Content Pool