Sergio Perez called being a teammate to Max Verstappen at Red Bull the toughest gig in Formula 1, and claimed that \u201ceverything was a problem\u201d no matter what he did.<\/p>\n
Alleging that former Red Bull<\/a> team boss Christian Horner had told him from the start, \u201cthis project was created for Max\u201d, Perez spoke of upgrades quelling his title ambitions by taking away his feeling for the car. But, he \u201clearned a great deal\u201d about how to \u201cmake the absolute very best\u201d of the situation.<\/p>\n Sergio Perez: Faster or slower than Max Verstappen \u2018a problem\u2019<\/p>\n On his way to becoming a four-time F1 World Champion, Max Verstappen has developed the reputation of a Red Bull teammate killer.<\/p>\n Following the struggles of Pierre Gasly and Alex Albon, Perez lasted four years in the seat. In that time, he had the highs of five grand prix wins, but also major lows in form, which ultimately cost him his drive.<\/p>\n \u201cWe had the best team. Unfortunately, everything was destroyed,\u201d P\u00e9rez told the Oso Trava<\/a> podcast.<\/p>\n \u201cWe had the team to have dominated the sport for the next 10 years, I think, and unfortunately, everything is over now.\u201d<\/p>\n He added: \u201cI was on the best team, but it was complicated, because just being Max\u2019s teammate is extremely difficult, but being Max\u2019s teammate at Red Bull is the hardest job there is in Formula 1, by far.<\/p>\n \u201cOnce I arrived at Red Bull, I began to achieve results. Everyone completely forgot how difficult it was to be in that seat.<\/p>\n \u201cI was extremely conscious of the situation I was entering. I was arriving at Red Bull, and they immediately put you up against one of the greatest drivers in history.\u201d<\/p>\n Perez\u2019s career looked to be over at the conclusion of the F1 2020 season, having lost his seat at Racing Point as Sebastian Vettel arrived at Lawrence Stroll\u2019s team, but was picked up by Red Bull for \u201921.<\/p>\n Senior management had thought long and hard about the decision regarding a teammate for Verstappen, as Christian Horner and Helmut Marko had differing opinions on who should replace Alex Albon; Marko was in favour of Nico Hulkenberg, while Horner pushed hard for Perez.<\/p>\n Perez was asked if he walked through the doors at Red Bull believing he could compete, as he did at times, especially early in 2022 and \u201923, or as the defined second driver.<\/p>\n The Mexican spoke of a first conversation with the then-team boss, Horner, to answer that question.<\/p>\n \u201cI knew what I was getting into,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cThis project is for Max. It\u2019s Red Bull.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I first sat down with Christian, he said to me, \u2018Look, we\u2019ll race with two cars, because we have to, but this project was created for Max. Max is our talent\u2019.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s like if Carlos Slim makes a team and I\u2019m his driver, and you hire a Dutchman, then. It\u2019s exactly the same thing.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s what I was getting at, and I was very much aware.<\/p>\n \u201cI told him, \u2018It doesn\u2019t matter. I\u2019m on this team. I\u2019m going to develop the car. I\u2019m going to support the car. I\u2019m going to support the team\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n But, doesn\u2019t it become tempting, Perez was asked, to chase his own ambitions when he saw that he could win at the wheel of a Red Bull.<\/p>\n \u201cYes, definitely,\u201d he replied.<\/p>\n \u201cEspecially in the early parts of the season, in 2022, when the car, by mistake, came out really heavy, so we had a very heavy car that, its weight distribution, was too far forward, so it was much more stable, which was always what I was looking for.<\/p>\n \u201cSo, at that moment, I remember that, from the simulator, I was faster than Max.\u201d<\/p>\n As such, Perez arrived at the tracks \u201cautomatically\u201d thinking about \u201cwinning the race\u201d, such is what happens for a driver \u201cwhen you don\u2019t have to constantly be thinking how to drive or what the car is going to do\u201d.<\/p>\n Perez saw himself in a 2022 title fight against Verstappen, which was, he claimed, until the upgrades arrived.<\/p>\n \u201cOnce the upgrades are here, there is a very clear direction that the team absolutely has to follow,\u201d Perez alleged.<\/p>\n This is when the \u201cissues\u201d began, claims Perez, as that automatic feeling with the car evaporated, and he had to start thinking about how to drive it, and \u201cnot crashing\u201d.<\/p>\n Perez called 2023 a cut-and-paste, with him and Verstappen \u201cvery evenly matched\u201d until Barcelona, where he was \u201calready a second slower per lap\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cI couldn\u2019t control the car anymore,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n More on Red Bull from PlanetF1.com<\/p>\n Why F1 2026 changes everything in hard reset for Red Bull<\/a><\/p>\n Max Verstappen \u2018is motorsport\u2019 as Red Bull boss hails single-minded approach<\/a><\/p>\n From there, Perez said the \u201cpressure\u201d on him began to build, with the driver \u201cthe culprit\u201d.<\/p>\n He claimed that Red Bull complained about \u201cpractically everything\u201d towards him in regards to his drop-off.<\/p>\n \u201cBecause you\u2019re not concentrated, because you\u2019re doing too many commercials, or because you\u2019re busy with other things.<\/p>\n \u201cAt Red Bull, absolutely everything was a problem. If you were too quick, that would become a problem. Clearly, it created a very, very tense atmosphere at Red Bull.<\/p>\n \u201cIf I were faster than Max, it was always a problem. If I were slower than Max, it was also a problem. So, everything became a problem!\u201d<\/p>\n But, Perez said he \u201clearned a great deal\u201d from the situation, that \u201ccomplaining\u201d was not the answer, but rather, it was to \u201cmake the absolute very best of it, and get the most benefit possible\u201d.<\/p>\n Perez remained with Red Bull until the end of 2024, departing following that season after a fresh collapse in form.<\/p>\n He will return to the grid for the F1 2026 season with Cadillac, racing alongside Valtteri Bottas.<\/p>\n Want to be the first to know exclusive information from the F1 paddock? Join our broadcast channel on WhatsApp<\/a> to get the scoop on the latest developments from our team of accredited journalists.<\/p>\n You can also subscribe to the PlanetF1 YouTube channel<\/a> for exclusive features, hear from our paddock journalists with stories from the heart of Formula 1 and much more!<\/p>\n