The Saudi Arabian Grand Prix on Sunday may have been Sergio Perez’s greatest performance to far, but Formula One needs the Mexican to keep it up in a season that is quickly developing into a story of two Red Bull teammates.
The results from Bahrain and Jeddah indicate that Max Verstappen, who began 15th on Sunday and was in in second place at the halfway mark, will otherwise quickly win his third consecutive championship.
With everyone else competing for the remaining positions, Perez, who began on pole under the floodlights in Saudi Arabia, is only separated from his teammate who is leading the championship by one point, or a fastest lap.
The 33-year-old veteran was signed at the end of 2020 as strong backing for the team’s top talent, and neutrals will join Mexican supporters in hope he can at least give Verstappen a run for his money. Red Bull was unbeatable in 2018 and has continued to be unbeatable in 2023, shedding only one point (for the fastest lap) out of a possible 88.
With two one-two finishes, they are off to their finest season start ever. Since July 2022, only one driver has been able to defeat them: Mercedes’ George Russell in Brazil last November. Red Bull has won 12 of the last 13 races, and some believe they may win all 23 this year.
Verstappen defeated Perez’s two victories by winning 15 of the 22 races last season. Lewis Hamilton, a seven-time world champion and driver for Mercedes, told reporters after placing sixth in Jeddah, “I’ve probably never seen a vehicle that quick.
Toto Wolff, the head of Mercedes, offered a more upbeat interpretation of events. Wolff is well-versed in serial success with to his team’s eight consecutive constructors’ championships from 2014 to present. When questioned about the sport’s popularity suffering if Red Bull maintained winning everything, the Austrian said, “We’ve had those years were we were as powerful, but it’s a meritocracy.
The fact that the same folks always win is not fantastic for the program, but it is because they have performed well while we have not.
I recall hearing sounds like that in 2014, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, and 20, so we shouldn’t downplay it. You have to put in a lot of effort to win, and you really earn it, which is what makes sports so unique.
Sports are followed by entertainment, which may not be good for business but is what makes Formula One unique. Horner tried to create some tension by implying that things may change when the first three races are over and improvements began to arrive, even if it did not seem fully credible.
Two drivers who had one victory each are within one point of one another, and he predicted that they will compete fiercely in the next races. “The Melbourne racetrack Albert Park has never been fortunate for us. There, I believe we’ve only won once, in 2011, “Regarding the Australian Grand Prix, he remarked.
“So we’re going there and trying to do the best we can,” said the group. Perez concurred, saying, “I believe we did a tremendous job,” in reference to the Jeddah race. “I’m not sure whether that was my finest weekend with the squad so yet, but Melbourne will be even better,” the player said.
