Red Bull Content Pool
F1 News
Perez: 'Verstappen would experience that too if he had gone to Mercedes'
- GPblog.com
Sergio Perez is now completely used to Red Bull Racing, but at the beginning of his time at the team it was difficult to get used to the new car. Still, he does not feel bad about it, as he believes that Max Verstappen would also suffer from this if he was to drive for Mercedes.
The Mexican was not the only driver to join a new Formula One team in 2021. Daniel Ricciardo drove his first season at McLaren and Sebastian Vettel at Aston Martin, while Fernando Alosno re-joined the grid at Alpine. They all had one thing in common - they could not get used to their new cars quickly.
Perez believes that it's not just his fault, and that Verstappen would also have a hard time at a new team, because you have to learn to drive again. Everything that worked at the previous team or car can suddenly be completely different now. "It would be the same if Max [for example] had gone to Mercedes. The cars are just very different. They set similar lap times, but the way they get their lap time is totally different," Perez told Motorsport-Magazin.
Being able to help Verstappen well
Despite the start-up problems, it was a reasonable year for the former Racing Point driver. He was on the podium five times and won a race in Azerbaijan. He was able to help Verstappen well on several occasions and the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix is the best example of that. Now that he really feels part of the team he wants to start 2022 well.