Perez experiences Verstappen up close: 'That's what makes him so special'

At the press conference at the Circuit of the Americas on Thursday, Perez was asked about what distinguishes Verstappen in his opinion: "Well, I think he clearly has stepped up in the last few years. He really delivers from FP1 all the way to the last lap of Sunday at a very high level. He hardly makes mistakes. And I think it's something that is very hard to get, you know, to be able to drive at your 100% without making mistakes is the thing that makes him so special at the moment."

Whereas Verstappen did not make any really big mistakes with consequences in 2022, Perez was not faultless this year. Among other things, he went wrong at the start of the Austrian Grand Prix. The 32-year-old driver was a little too bright at the start and then threw away his chances due to a touché with Mercedes driver George Russell.

In any case, crashing is something Perez doesn't want at all for the next two Grands Prix. This weekend's race is in the United States and next week his home country of Mexico will be the setting. Not only is the race at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriquez special for Perez, but so is COTA.

"Yes,certainly, this is a very special weekend because you know, there's so many Mexicans, Latins at this race and then we have also the home race coming up so these two races, I'll say are the most special weekends of my season, so I really hope I am able to have great results here," Perez said.