Perez's father praises rival: 'Best moment of his career'

'Perez learns how to drive like Verstappen'

Antonio Perez says this season, his son has changed his driving style around so it would fit the RB20 more. "What Checo is doing from the beginning of the season is learning to drive the car in Verstappen's style. Previously, Checo tried to bring the car to his style, but today the car is more made in Max's style and that is what Checo is learning, he is on this learning curve. What Checo has to learn is how to feel comfortable with the RB20. But he is very close. To this day he continues to fight for the championship. He is second in the World Championships and we have to wait, the season is very long and we have not seen the best of Checo yet," he told Marca.

Perez Sr also hopes one day, Perez can get the better of the Dutchman. "The relationship between them is much better. They are two tigers in the same cage. If you ask me who I would like as a teammate for Checo, I would say that I prefer him to be the best in the world. So Checo is the second best and I hope one day he surpasses Max and I would have an F1 world champion son."

Perez Sr praises Alonso

"Right now, we are seeing the best Alonso. He is in the best moment of his sporting career. Why? Because he does not have the best car and yet he is fighting with the strongest," the Mexican said about the two-time world champion.

He added: "When he was the champion he had the best car. The same could be applied to Max. If Max would be fighting for the lead in a team that is not as powerful as Red Bull, today you would say Max is the best driver in the world because he is fighting with a car that is not the best in the world."