Intensity, pressure and learning. This is how Checo Pérez evaluates his first year as a Red Bull team rider, where he assures that he has been driven to raise his level, as internal competition with a character like Max Verstappen has forced him to give his best every week.
Pérez was announced as a new Red Bull driver in the last days of 2020, when he was haunted by uncertainty about not having a secure team and even talked about his retirement, since he had already added a decade in the Formula 1 show. However, the longed-for opportunity arrived and he achieved the best year in points of his career, as well as a leading role not seen before on a global level.
“The season has been very intense, extremely intense, I would say. A lot of work has been done behind the scenes, a lot of pressure. When you are in Red Bull Racing, the pressure is high and everyone is watching you, what you do and obviously things are much more difficult for a Red Bull driver, which is very understandable, “said the Mexican in an interview. for Autosport.
Although he is not a Red Bull academy graduate like his teammate, Max Verstappen, Checo earned the team’s confidence to be renewed for the 2022 season. The challenge would be to reach fourth place in the Drivers’ World Championship for the third consecutive championship or even surpass it , as he describes that this first year has served him to adapt and meet the demands.
“It hasn’t been easy, but being here (Red Bull team) has taken me to another level and having Max as a teammate really takes you to new levels. I am enjoying it a lot at this point in my career, I am very happy and that is the most important thing ”, says the Jalisco, who from March 2022 will run his twelfth season in F1.
Pérez and Verstappen shared the podium in four of the 22 Grands Prix, scoring 585.5 points that served to leave Red Bull as runner-up in the Constructors’ World Cup. In addition, the Mexican showed strategic functions in recent days to block points to his teammate’s direct rivals, such as Lewis Hamilton, in the search for the drivers’ title, who finally stayed at home.
“Max (Verstappen) is really good. It really is one with the car. He’s very good in qualifying and he’s very good in racing. It is very complete, experienced. I mean, the season that he has done I think he has been a legend, it is really impressive and a great compliment for him. He really is one with the car. “
On an individual level, Pérez increased his number of points at the end of the season, going from 125 in 2020 to 190 in 2021, the highest amount in his career, in addition to reaching the podium five times when the most he had achieved in a year was three; he also claimed his second win in 11 years when he claimed first place on Matchday 6 in Azerbaijan.
The Mexican met the expectations of Red Bull executives such as Christian Horner and Helmut Marko, who constantly referred to him as a key piece of the team and therefore will maintain for 2022, making a good match with Verstappen: “Max has been a great teammate from day one for me and the team has also been fantastic. I was in a position to support my teammate and I did that ”.
Checo’s goal is to stop being alone and consolidate himself and become a benchmark for the team like Verstappen is, fighting each race at the top of the grid; acknowledges that in 2021 he lacked the necessary consistency in circuits such as Hungary, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, where he had to withdraw due to mechanical problems.
“When you’re out of position and the consistency is lacking. I think the main thing I lacked was that to be constantly 100% with the car. I have to improve my game for next year and so, hopefully, we can all move on ”, emphasizes the Mexican on his days off, preparing everything for a new jump in 2022.
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Reference-www.eleconomista.com.mx