Perez hoping to close the gap to Mercedes this year

First day for Perez

Perez will be Max Verstappen's new teammate at Red Bull Racing from 2021, after Alexander Albon was made reserve and test driver. The Mexican has little time to adapt to his new team, as the season begins after just three days of testing in Bahrain. One and a half days for Perez to get to know his new car.

''I am most looking forward to the new car and seeing how competitive we are. We hope to close the gap to Mercedes and hopefully be able to beat them regularly with both cars. Of course, this is a huge challenge because the current order cannot be changed overnight, but hopefully we and Mercedes will provide a lot of spectacle in 2021,'' Perez said in Red Bull's video.

Testing with Red Bull

Perez was already at the factory on Wednesday and will be there more often in the coming period, to quickly learn more about his new team and car. "You join a new team and then there are lots of things you have to learn. That just takes time. I will get better and better over time, as I get to know the team better and they also know what I want."

"I will spend a lot of time with my new engineers to speed up this process. I have already been in the simulator and therefore already have a good idea in my head of how the car feels. However, in this time we don't have much time to test the car. A day and a half is very little for the new season, but it's the same for everyone."