Sergio Perez says even Hamilton and Leclerc would battle as Verstappen’s teammates at Purple Bull
The Mexican driver believes that even the seven-time world champion and the Monegasque would face critical difficulties in the event that they needed to share a workforce with the Dutchman.
Max Verstappen, everybody’s nightmare
Since Max Verstappen entered System 1 at simply 17 years outdated behind the wheel of Toro Rosso (now Racing Bulls), nearly each driver who has been his teammate has discovered it extraordinarily tough to match the four-time world champion, each throughout his time with the Faenza-based workforce and, much more so, with Purple Bull. All through his profession, the Dutchman has successfully “knocked out” seven teammates, with the function of Verstappen’s teammate now thought of the hardest and most feared place in System 1.
Along with Carlos Sainz at Toro Rosso, Verstappen has achieved much better outcomes at Purple Bull in comparison with Daniel Ricciardo, Pierre Gasly, Alex Albon, Sergio Perez, Liam Lawson, and Yuki Tsunoda. Most of them spent solely a short while with the Milton Keynes workforce earlier than being dropped by advisor Helmut Marko, who’s now deciding who will companion Max Verstappen in 2026 — whether or not it’ll nonetheless be Yuki Tsunoda or one other driver.
Sergio Perez’s view
Amongst these drivers, Sergio Perez raced alongside Verstappen at Purple Bull from 2021 to 2024. Throughout that interval, the Mexican outqualified the world champion ten instances however completed behind him in 80 qualifying battles. In races the place each reached the end line, Perez was forward in 11 Grands Prix, in comparison with 79 received by Verstappen. It was a really tough scenario to deal with for the 35-year-old, who will quickly be a part of Cadillac, as he defined throughout the Mexico Metropolis weekend: “As quickly because the separation from Purple Bull was determined, I noticed that whoever joined Purple Bull subsequent could be fully powerless, as a result of I barely managed to outlive in such a tough setting,” he advised the media. “It’s very onerous to drive alongside Max. Most individuals don’t perceive that. I may say much more about it, however let’s go away it there: there’s no driver who may compete with Max. It doesn’t matter when you put Lewis Hamilton or Charles Leclerc within the automotive, they’d all be completed.”
In keeping with Sergio Perez, the challenges additionally come from the automotive’s setup, which is nearly all the time tuned to Max Verstappen’s preferences: “As a driver, it’s actually onerous while you always have to consider the way to drive,” he added. “All the things ought to occur naturally. For those who begin considering an excessive amount of, you already know the place that leads. It’s a must to adapt to Max’s driving model. It’s not that the automotive is unhealthy, however the steadiness could be very particular — when you don’t drive like him, you’re fully misplaced. There are such a lot of issues that outsiders don’t perceive. It’s not nearly driving quick, but additionally about managing strain and expectations. It’s actually powerful, and that’s why I say no driver can go to Purple Bull and anticipate all the things to go easily.” – the previous Purple Bull driver concluded.
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