Being the teammate of two-time world champion Max Verstappen is not an easy task, as the likes of Pierre Gasly and Alex Albon have found out in the past.
With the Dutchman being almost unbeatable, his current teammate Sergio Perez has been happy to serve as Verstappen’s wingman during his two seasons so far with Red Bull, playing a huge role in both of the 25-year-old’s championship winning seasons.
Perez’s heroics at the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix led to Verstappen calling the Mexican a ‘legend’, with team principal Christian Horner also suggesting that Red Bull’s current driver pairing is one of their strongest ever.
While he has been a phenomenal teammate, Perez obviously has title ambitions of his own and suggested over the winter that after two years adapting to Red Bull, he now feels ready to battle Verstappen for the championship.
READ: Martin Brundle reveals major advantage Aston Martin have over Max Verstappen and Red Bull
Perez’s father Antonio Perez has backed his son to become a world champion in the future, claiming that this season will be the start of the Mexican’s winning career.
“We will have a Formula 1 champion from Mexico,” he told Mexico newspaper Esto.
“He said it since he was a child, ‘I will not return to Mexico until I am a world champion.’
“We have to erase all these years that have passed because he never had the opportunity to fight like he is going to fight now. We are all going to start to see the best of Checo Perez. He still has a lot to give.”
Red Bull’s chief advisor Helmut Marko has warned Perez against trying to battle Verstappen, suggesting that every teammate who has tried to fight the Dutchman has suffered the same fate.
READ: Sky Sports pundit suggests Lando Norris ‘exit clause’ could see him join Ferrari or Red Bull
Marko has claimed that only Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton have the talent to beat Verstappen, putting Perez out of contention for the title before the season even started.
If it was not for a battle with Charles Leclerc at the start of the Bahrain Grand Prix, Perez may have had the opportunity to battle his teammate during the first round of the season.
Next week will present a good opportunity for Perez to show what he can do, as last season’s ‘King of the street circuits’, travels to Jeddah for the second round of the 2023 season.