Former GP2 champion Davide Valsecchi praises Sergio Perez for his achievements in Formula 1 but does not see the Mexican winning the F1 title in 2023. Indeed, Perez is up against a phenomenon in his battle with Max Verstappen.
Valsecchi, a test driver for the Lotus F1 team in 2011 and 2012, is now an F1 analyst at the Italian branch of Sky Sports and discusses the 2023 Formula 1 title race with Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport. Red Bull Racing is the favourite and the driver's title is likely to go to one of the two drivers.
Perez good, Verstappen champion
Valsecchi does not think Perez can beat his teammate: "If we talk about some confrontations during the season I think so. But winning the championship I don't think so. Perez is very good, but the problem is that he is up against a phenomenon. Phenomena are strong every day of the week, plus Sunday."
And this is why, according to the Italian, Perez is not a phenomenon: "Perez is a good driver, but he only achieves that level occasionally. In our sport, that's the difference between good drivers and champions. Champions do what [Fernando] Alonso is doing this year; always third, once fourth. They are hammers [...] Perez reminds me more of [Valtteri] Bottas. A good driver who was really strong at four or five circuits against [Lewis] Hamilton."
I will never understand why people just can't both agree Max and Lewis are great drivers and absolute outliers in the world of formula 1. Head and shoulders with a couple other drivers above the rest
Because great drivers dont get beaten by a rookie who comes in his first year and dominates the driver.
Lewis was never was a,great driver he had to have the fastist car .last year at spar he crashed into alonso and alonso right lewis can only drive when up front .know you look at were max started in spar last year and what a drive he made .this year look were max started in 15 and got second and then maima race got 1st and how long did it take lewis to get into the points .
He spend half of the race behind Gasly in Italy and Ocon in Japan, that too in the wets. That did expose him a lot, especially when George was making great overtaking moves in the S's at Japan. Yes, the SPA move was very amateurish....he completely ignored the entire car (to put it lightly)!!! But the worst was Silverstone 21. I was a Lewis fan till then (Yes, believe it)..............
Bret it was bad what lewis did in 2021 at siverstone and when ocon won hungry alobso heled lewis up. and lewis say over radio hes dangurse driving when lewis is the dangurse driver??
The truth is Lewis Hamilton is jn my eyes the example of a phenomenon F1. When has a rookie, in 2007, gets in a F1 car for the first time and beats his teamate, who happened to be the reigning 2 time WC. Never has happened before..... Lewis Hamilton has broken pretty much most records and milestones achieved by other F1 drivers. Lewis holds the record for the most poles, the most consecutive points finishes, and has won joint most WC's with Michael Schumacher. I also will cite his off track achievements. He has been a vocal advocate for diversity and inclusion in motorsport and has used his platform to raise awareness about important social and environmental issues, altogether many on this blog think he :should shut up and drive. Overall, Lewis Hamilton's impact on Formula 1 and the world of motorsport cannot be overstated. His extraordinary talent, combined with his passion for making a positive difference, has solidified his status as a true phenomenon. So please calling Max a phenomenon is, to me, ridiculous.
@Vegan - This is an article about Perez(and Max)... Yet you can't resist the urge to post a huge comment..... glorifying the Sir?
@VeganWarrior +4891522-05-2023 10:07 Well i disagree with youm if someone is an ''true phenomenon'' or not is not for you to decide, Hamilton is indeed a phenomenon drivers, but so is Alonso Verstappen, M. Schumacher etc. etc. i understand in your fanboy mind it's hard to accept there can be more phenomenons but it is true, just as your phenomenon(s) doesn't have to be mine. Hell is you ask a Mexican person they might call Perez their phenomenon.
Well what is the criteria for being termed a phenomenon? Cause I disagree with the premise he is winning races in a super dominant car ,while for 7 seasons he was in the midfield, he is now winning does not make him a phenomenon, sorry thats a fact.
@VeganWarrior +4892322-05-2023 11:36 7 seasons in the midfield? He started by getting further with an midfield car(the then Torro rosso) that anyone else, Red Bull never was a midfield car and you known it. But what is a phenomenon could you call a driver who could only win when his team was miles ahead in terms of dominance? a phenomenon? No wonder you pulled so many other things with it, because on pure racecraft let me remind you again he was beaten by Rosberg. Sorry that is a fact. Your claim is an opinion, and a factually false one to as Red Bull also in the 7 season you mention wasn't a midfield team.
@kingpeppermint, I understand that you have a different perspective and you're welcome to back that perspective with an argument that you believe is correct. I will address your points now: Lewis Hamilton debuted in a competitive car, nothing more and nothing less, during his rookie season. It is important to note that his performance in that season was phenomenal. Lewis scored points in his first race as a rookie and consistently outperformed his more experienced teammate, the two-time world champion Alonso, throughout the season. This demonstrated his phenomenal and exceptional skill and talent as a rookie driver. In 2015, Max Verstappen competed against Carlos Sainz, who may not have been the quickest driver on the grid as he was dropped from the Red Bull team to the sister team. It is worth remembering that the STR10's reliability was woeful, and while Carlos suffered most from technical problems in the races, Max Verstappen didn't manage to consistently beat his more experienced teammate in the same machinery. This shows that there was nothing phenomenal about Max's performance in that specific scenario. Comparing the two rookies, Hamilton demonstrated phenomenal performance, while Verstappen did not show the same level of dominance. The circumstances of their debut seasons may have been different, but when we compare Max against Sainz and Lewis against the two-time world champion Alonso, in the same machinery, we clearly saw the phenomenon in Lewis and not Max. However, both drivers did demonstrate extraordinary skills, adaptability, and the ability to compete at a high level from the very beginning of their F1 careers. It is just evident that Lewis was the phenomenon, not Max. Regarding the discussion about Lewis speaking about racism, if you have any issues with his stance, feel free to express your concerns and we can have a discussion about that aspect separately. I hope this addresses your points
@VeganWarrior +4903523-05-2023 15:35 Despite the fact that i personally don't really give much about you you think is ''phenomenon'' or not everyone who reads your responses back and have some knownledge of F1 knowns youre using an different measurement for Lewis then for anyone else.. I mean Lewis rookie season was directly in the then dominant car, Max was in a midway season car and outperformed everyone who drove in that same car before so objectively there isn;t that much difference between those two rookies other than Lewsi debuting in a car that was already very competitive. But an rookie driver making such and intro in general shows youre dealing with an enoughmous talents some may even say an phenomenon.. other want the drivers to start strange discussions about racism not having had opportunities while he is in F1 because of programs to give those very opportunities etc. some people like being misled and virtue signaling etc. and that all is fine off course but that sad when you fill you mind with that way of thinking you risk loosing reality out of sight. like claiming Red Bull is an midfield team, which isn't true, they might have been under the Renault fiasco in terms of standings but if you than look at results you see Max was often in the top 5 if they car would work. and if he didn't mess up, but that's the same with rookie #44 he has enough crashes in he rookie season too, F1 was much more competitive back then so that also helped.
@kingpeppermint, you agree Lewis is a phenomenon, and other drivers can be phenomenal as well. I don't see Max in the same way, he is a good driver in a brilliant car, and winning in that car does not make Max phenomenal in any way. I have never said Lewis is a phenomenon because of his achievements in his rookie season. I hope that's computing my friend.
With a car that was below par and difficult to drive, where Mercedes experimented with setups and changes on Lewis Hamilton's car , Russell had a brilliant season. Now stop deflecting , Lewis soundly beat Alonso ,and I have gave you the reasons had to get now my friend.
More deflection. You didn't answer my question about Russell's performance last year.
@Username,Well, you're welcome to hold that view. The facts are: Alonso was soundly beaten by his teammate with the same machinery. Lewis won more races. Lewis had more pole positions. Lewis had more fastest laps. Lewis led Alonso in more races that season. Lewis led the championship as a rookie. This was phenomenal, as Lewis was a rookie and Alonso was the two-time world champion.
So if finishing level on points is 'soundly beating' someone', what terminology would you use to describe George Russell's performance last year?
@username, soundly beat the 2 x world champion, win more races than Alonso, out qualified Alonso, lead more laps than Alonso, had more fastest laps than Alonso. Rattled Alonso to the extent Alonso started c Blaming the the team for his inability to beat the rookie Lewis Hamilton.....so yes soundly beating.
Define 'soundly beaten'. Maybe it's just me but finishing level on points is hardly 'soundly beating' someone. Again, Alonso's antics in Hungary inevitably cost him the title, never mind beating Lewis. I was a Raikkonen fan at the time so I was glad he did what he did, but to claim Lewis 'soundly beat' Alonso is just crazy talk.
@Username, don't forget Masi, why do Redbull fans always leave out Masi and the FIA floor changes that benefited Redbull. Alonso was soundly beaten by the rookie in 2007, go back an watch the season
@Japie, citing age as a record makes no sense, just because he was given a seat early than most drivers doesn't make him a phenomenon, makes him lucky my friend, not to mention the lucky break he had in getting the first win with all the 3 drivers that where fighting for the win had issues .....is that you phenomenon criteria now . How about winning 4 races in you rookie year in F1, against your world champion team mate ?. Most wins in a season , well thats simple, have the best car and you will have many wins, doesn't make the driver a phenomenon, makes the car one thou. Max is a great driver , just not a phenomenon my friend.
It's a pointless exercise discussing anything with Vegan. I challenged Vegan's cherry picked data from Racefans once with a full Racefans article rubbishing Vegans claims and backing up my own. At this point Vegan chose to not believe the data from a source he/she frequently used. There is something not right there.
Like I said, I will not repeat the records to you, you know them ;-) But just some examples, most wins in a season, youngest driver ever to win a F1 race and the list goes on. The longer he stays, the longer the list becomes. The funny stuff is, the world sees it, the pundits see it, even the most hard critics at Sky slowly come to terms with it. Whatever some troll on a blog like you think of it, I guess is hardly relevant. Though years ahead my friend. I wish you all the best to overcome that.
@JapieKrekel, I didn't use records either to justify Lewis Hamilton being a phenomenon, thats you using that as a yardstick and unfortunately if you measuring that against your boy Max, even Vettel is head shoulders above him. Re read my post for the points are made my friend .
You really cannot count right ;-) No worries, sounds like a broken record.
@JapieKrekel, Max is far being a phenomenon, Vettle is , Lewis is, Alonso is, Max is a good driver in a brilliant car . 7 seasons in the midfield showed that.
Well, if it is not decisive, then no need to mention it right? As it does not differentiate him from other phenomenons like Max? ;-)
“ Thats not what I said, I have multiple criteria, you cite one cause that's all you have for Max” I guess you do not need or want a list of records Max has smashed in his relative short time in F1, so I will spare you the pain. The other records will come in due time, if he chooses to stay long enough.
@Japiekrelel "if your criteria is that Lewis is a phenomenon because he won a race in every season competed in except 1, guess Max smashes that as sell" Thats not what I said, I have multiple criteria, you cite one cause that's all you have for Max , sorry that don't work my friend.
Max also won a race in every season he competed in F1 except 2015 when he was a rookie in a car that was nowhere near fast enough to achieve points, let alone a win. So that is the qualification then? 2016. - Barcelona 2017 - Malaysia, Mexico 2018 - Austria, Mexico (again) 2019 - Austria, Germany, Brazil 2020 - Silverstone, Abu Dhabi 2021 - well, that monster season with 10 wins 2022 - Damn, even more, 15 wins 2023 - Real chance to smash that record again Sou if your criteria is that Lewis is a phenomenon because he won a race in every season competed in except 1, guess Max smashes that as sell. Btw, drivers in the midfield do not win races and most certainly not more than 1 in a season. In fact, except for his rookie season in the RB, Max won at least two races in each season ;-) It is not a coincidence these wins came on tracks, where the superior engines were nullified due to conditions and circuit layout ;-)
'Soundly beaten' would be what Max did to Lewis in '21, as in actually finishing with more points. More points despite having 2 more DNF's, one of which resulting from being taken out by his direct rival who gained a 26 point swing yet still won. That's what I would call 'soundly beaten'.
@VeganWarrior +4901022-05-2023 14:22 You don't have to rant on about how you think Lewis is an phenomenon as stated before i think you can have more then one phenomenon. and although i am off the opinion that part of Lewis enormous success was because of being at the right team at the right time, surely he is a amongst one of the best drivers, if he still is in that shape now remains to be seen, but that doesn't take away anything from his past results. Where i don't agree with is how you seem to downplay Max's results and claim his dominance now is all down to the car, whilst when Lewis was dominant down to his car he was first beaten by his teammate(rosberg), then needed and wingman(bottas) so he could win easyly again. So how does that commute in your brain? having one standard for one and a other for the other?
The fact is Lewis in his rookie season in the same machinery as the reigning 2x world champion Alonso was soundly beaten. That phenomenonal achievement was followed by the Lewis winning his first WC the following year . These are the pesky facts like Lewis has won a race in every year of his Career except one. The guy is actually a phenomenon.
Sure, HAM is still one of the better drivers on the grid However, if he ever was a ''phenomenon''........he no longer is.........George settled that last year
Vegan, Wrong again! First, Lewis did not beat his teammte in 2007. Alonso and Lewis were tied in points and wins. They were equal. One another note, Lewis looks flat compared to Max at the same point in their career. Lewis never won a legitimate championship until he joined Mercedes. Timo Glock handed his best friend Lewis a championship in Brazil 2008.. Also, "crash gate" 2008 affected the results of the season. Lewis only won a championship with Mercedes with 50 surplus horsepower over the field. Not such a big deal when your only competition for 8 years is your teammate. Lewis is NOT a phenomenon!
@rport, the let's test your claim , Google FIA standings F1 2007. And tell me that Alonso and Lewis where classified as tied.....I will await your clarification ? "Lewis looks flat ", we are discussing the rookie season, 2007 for Lewis and he is beating the current 2x world champion and then in his second year in F1 2008 he wins the the WC. Unheard of in F1 , where a rookie did that ?, but thats pretty flat for you...... Max was lambasting with a few wins and the odd podium ,until he had his rocketship, so not a phenomenon at all, more like car dependant.
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