Verstappen’s year of glory was also Checo Pérez’s. Red Bull threw Mercedes off the throne in the last race of the year, on the last lap in Abu Dhabi. The one from the Netherlands was raised in a tough confrontation with Lewis Hamilton, seven times king of the world, who seemed lost. Five laps from the end, an accident allowed the distances to be shortened and there Mad Max mutated champion for the first time in his career. The Mexican was key to the title. “I have to give credit to Checo, he did a great job, a good defense, a great teamwork,” Verstappen said of his number two who, after the brutal sacrifice, had to abandon the race.
Pérez was the partner that Max Verstappen needed to be able to shine. Someone whose ego won’t beat. They asked Pérez to boost the Dutchman and he did. When the engineers asked him to favor the exits of his colleague in the classifications, the Mexican did not protest. The car, adapted to Verstappen, was a challenge for the Mexican in the first races. He managed to tame Red Bull to close out his season with five podium finishes, including an unexpected victory in Azerbaijan.
In Abu Dhabi, the final race, the Mexican started fourth and managed to climb to third position. It was not good news for Red Bull because Max Verstappen, despite starting first, lost his place to Hamilton. On lap 13 Verstappen came out to the pits, lost a lot of advantage and that allowed the Briton to change tires as well. And it was Checo Pérez moment. The Mexican stayed with the leadership of the race, but had to endure the onslaught of the Mercedes. Pérez had to be the stopper, encourage his rival. And he fought every curve to Hamilton. “Isn’t it aggressive driving?” Reproached the leader of the German team. Far from it. The Mexican pulled out a fang and played fair. Pérez shortened a difference of more than eight seconds that Verstappen had against Hamilton. “Czech is a legend,” congratulated the Dutchman.
The race was tough for the Netherlands. With five laps to go, the unexpected happened: Latifi’s car lost control and caused a virtual safety car. That opened the golden opportunity for Verstappen. The Red Bulls changed tires. Hamilton did not want to change tires. Those from the energy drink company waited for them to attack. And that happened in the last lap. The frenzy was total. If Verstappen succeeded it would be a blow. In Mercedes they did not give credit. And the Red Bull driver was able to overtake him in an epic finale to a Formula 1 season. Checo Pérez was asked to leave the race because the car was not good despite running in third position. “The engine was about to thunder, we had to remove the car,” Pérez told F1TV.
The Mexican started his season with one of the biggest scares for the drivers: that the car stops working on the formation lap. In Bahrain, the Perez pride started from the bottom of the table to reach a creditable fifth place. His main rivals on the track were the Mercedes, of course, but also McLaren’s Lando Norris, one of the fastest drivers. In Emilia Romaña, the Mexican had started second and fell to eleventh place. Races passed in which the Mexican had trouble getting his car on track even though he remained in the top five.
The release of Checo Pérez occurred in Azerbaijan when he was fighting for a second place, Verstappen was the leader and Hamilton wanted to take the position from him. Verstappen suffered a flat tire and had to retire. Pérez was facing Hamilton. The Mercedes braked badly at the restart of that race and the Mexican rose to prominence. Then came the second podium for Guadalajara in France. In Styria, the Mexican was seconds away from another podium.
What cost Pérez was always qualifying for the race. Saturdays weren’t his best day. And less when it came to the so-called sprint race. In the UK Grand Prix, the Mexican paid a bad maneuver and finished sixteenth. Then came very tough weeks with a retirement in Hungary and Belgium, where the rain thwarted everything, he was nineteenth. In Monza, Italy, the Mexican had finished third, but a punishment relegated him to fifth place. His recovery was in Turkey when he took third place in a direct battle with Hamilton.
In Austin, Texas, the Mexican finished the race in third place, dehydrated because the water system did not work and with a stomach disease. A nightmare scenario. The consecration was at home, in Mexico City, where he became the first driver from his country to get on the podium. Checo Pérez’s first year with Red Bull finished fourth in the World Cup behind Verstappen, Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas. Private Pérez delivered for Red Bull.
Checo Pérez’s season with Red Bull
Bahrain: 5th place
Emilia Romaña: eleventh
Portugal: fourth
Spain: fifth
Monaco: fourth
Azerbaijan: 1st
France: third
Styria: fourth
Austria: sixth
UK: 16th
Hungary: withdrew from the race
Belgium: 19th
Netherlands: eighth
Italy: fifth
Russia: ninth
Turkey: third
United States: third
Mexico City: third
São Paulo: fourth
Qatar: fourth
Saudi Arabia: withdrew from the race
Abu Dhabi: withdrew from the race
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