Perez says he took his performance to the next level because of Verstappen

Sergio Perez played a crucial role in the final race of the Formula 1 season. His immense defending from Lewis Hamilton enable Max Verstappen to close up to the Mercedes driver, and ultimately win the race. Since that moment Verstappen has been unable to stress just how much he benefited from his team-mate in 2021, but that is also the case the other way around.

According to Perez, his teammate has forced him to perform better since his arrival at Red Bull Racing. It took the Mexican a while to get used to the RB16B, which proved a stark contrast to his familiar Racing Point car.

When Verstappen needed his support the most, Perez was there. After the heartbreaking blowout in Baku that seemingly handed victory to Lewis Hamilton, it was Perez who put Verstappen's rival under pressure at the restart and won the race. In subsequent races he struggled and regularly found himself in the chaos at the start, but he managed to turn up when it mattered.

Verstappen made Perez perform better

Perez, who describes his season to Motorsport.com as very intense, defended Hamilton's attacks as if his life depended on it and kept him at bay until Verstappen could catch up. The Mexican, however, says his team-mate has motivated him to take his performance to the next level.

He stresses that it's not always easy because Red Bull drivers seem to be under a magnifying glass, but that at the same time it's motivating. He also says that having Verstappen as a teammate has made him perform better and pushed his limits. He calls his teammate's season one of a 'legend', a term Verstappen also used for Perez during the race.