Verstappen in disbelief: 'It's not normal how many seconds he lost'

The attention during the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix was mainly focused on Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen, but Sergio Perez also played a key role. With his defensive work, he helped to ensure that Verstappen is now world champion.

During the final race of the gripping 2021 Formula 1 season, it seemed for a long time that the Dutchman had little chance. Hamilton was driving the faster laps and therefore the gap between the Briton and the Red Bull Racing driver remained fairly large. This gap disappeared when Perez sat in front of Hamilton and was able to hold him off. Despite being on old tyres, the Mexican managed to defend Hamilton for more than a lap with some great defensive moves and manoeuvres.

The 24-year old world champion is very enthusiastic about Perez and his defensive work. Verstappen calls it brilliant: "Not normal how he has been defending and how many seconds he has lost. Unbelievable how he defended here. Because of him I also won the championship," said Verstappen in conversation with Olav Mol at Ziggo Sport.

Despite the fact that Perez had to defend on old tyres, Verstappen had just put on new tyres which allowed him to get close quickly. The gap, which was more than ten seconds, that was between the Dutchman and the Briton was gone within a few laps because of his actions. Watching the two men fight, Verstappen could only smile. "At one point, of course, I saw them fighting and I got very close. Of course I could laugh about that at that moment."