Max Verstappen has established himself as a tough man for his teammates and this season Sergio Perez has the honor of playing against the Dutchman in the same machine. Before the first race of the year in Bahrain, the former Racing Point driver spoke about the new challenge he will have to face in 2021 – and how he will not be put off by the prospect …
Perez, who is the first guest on the brand new series of F1’s Beyond The Grid podcast released on Wednesday, showed his pace in pre-season testing in Bahrain last weekend, and our data showed the Mexican apparently did it already works with its RB16B. But can he take on Verstappen in the upcoming 23-race season?
READ MORE: 6 key things our pre-season testing data tells us – including Perez leading the battle after Verstappen
On the podcast, he said: “Since I knew I was coming to Red Bull, I knew I was going to face a big challenge, which is Max. He’s a very complete driver. To be honest, I haven’t had any surprises – I’ve just found that he’s a very strong driver all round and it’s going to be a job, a big challenge for me.
“But I wanted to. I wanted to compete with the best in sport. So it’s a great challenge and a great opportunity and something I’m so excited about. The way I see it, I have absolutely nothing to lose in my career. I’ve been fortunate enough to have a fantastic career so whatever comes next is great. “
“I don’t see why he should be worried about me or why I should be worried about him. We both came here to do the best possible job, ”he added.
The 31-year-old from Guadalajara added that he was not yet able to read too much from Verstappen’s data trail, as the two ran under completely different conditions in Bahrain.
READ MORE: 6 winners and 6 losers from F1 testing ahead of the 2021 season
“The conditions were so different for both of us these days,” continued Perez. “I haven’t seen enough, you know? He drove a route that is sometimes 10-15 degrees cooler and vice versa, with changing winds.
“I’ll know more in the first three or four races, but I can already see that he’s a very fast and solid driver.”
Perez made a shocking move to Red Bull, replacing Alex Albon at the end of the 2020 season
The pair have been working together for months ahead of the season, and Perez even shared a glimpse into his new teammate’s personality as the two burned the midnight oil in Milton Keynes to prepare Red Bull for a title challenge in 2021.
“He’s a very relaxed guy. There are no political things going on around him, ”said Perez. “He just likes to drive and we had a lot of fun in the couple of hours together.
TECH-TUESDAY: Did the rule changes in 2021 swing the advantage from Mercedes to Red Bull?
“We did a lot [PR] together. It was uninterrupted! We spent two days doing stuff for the media together and it was just fun. Max is just a young guy who enjoys life and gets along with driving. “
The season kicks off in Bahrain at the end of the month and Red Bull has put the reigning champion Mercedes up a notch, as some spectators see the Bulls as favorites in the first round …
You can listen to the full conversation with Sergio Perez on Beyond The Grid in the player above, or via Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or your favorite podcast app – it’s with them all.
The post “I have absolutely nothing to lose” – Perez explains why he is not concerned about the challenge of taking on Verstappen at Red Bull first appeared on monter-une-startup.
