“Oh, Checo is a legend!”. With this radio team Max Verstappen wanted to publicly thank his teammate for the defense put in place against Lewis Hamilton in the opening stages of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
When Max lost the lead at the start after a start to be forgotten, the Milton Keynes team decided to let Perez stay on the track with soft tires by now gone to try to slow down Hamilton’s escape with fresh hard ones.
The strategic choice worked, thanks above all to a stoic Perez in resisting the attacks of the seven-time world champion and allowing Verstappen to significantly reduce the gap from the Mercedes driver.
In the final race, then, Perez was forced to surrender with the engine now KO, but despite the bitterness for a vanished podium, the Mexican took part in the Red Bull party for the world title won by Verstappen at the end of a chaotic last lap .
“It was a crucial defense in that moment of the race,” Sergio said when asked to talk about his defense on Hamilton. “Lewis had the race under control and had the window to stop under the virtual safety car. At that moment he could have done what he wanted and it was a critical moment ”.
“My tires were now running low, but in the end everything worked fine. I am happy to have helped Max and the team. It was a complicated moment because you don’t want to interfere in the fight for the title, but I’ve always thought about my team ”.
Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing RB16B, battles Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes W12, for the lead
Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
Perez played the role of second driver perfectly this weekend. Yesterday, in qualifying, he sacrificed his first timed lap to provide the trail for Verstappen and today he stayed on track when the tires were running out to try to slow Lewis’ escape.
“Yes, it was a gamble because my softs had 18 or 19 laps by now, while Lewis had fresh tires. However, the strategy worked, as did the trail I gave to Max yesterday ”.
Perez then spent words of gratitude for both Red Bull and Verstappen underlining how high the pressure has been this year to be in a team fighting for the title.
“Max has been a great teammate from day one and the team has been fantastic with me. I found myself in a position to help him and I am happy for everyone. It’s a shame that in the end we didn’t take the Constructors home for a handful of points, but we’ll try next year ”.
“It has been an extremely busy year. We have worked hard away from the spotlight and when you are in Red Bull the pressure is very high and it is understandable. It wasn’t easy but having Max as my teammate pushed me to new levels ”.
Finally, Checo wanted to respond to Max’s radio team that will remain in the history of this race: “He is the legend. He is the world champion ”.
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