Red Bull leadership compliments Perez: "Drove at same level as Max"

Sunday in Australia ended in a deception for the Red Bull Racing team. Yet there was also a bright spot, according to Helmut Marko. The advisor of the Austrian racing stable praised himself very happy with the performance of Sergio Perez. The Mexican did what he had to do and finished second behind the unapproachable Charles Leclerc.

Perez started third in the Australian Grand Prix, but after the first corner he had to join fifth in line. After a few laps he managed to pass Lewis Hamilton and from there his race was pretty lonely. There was not much pressure from behind, although George Russell came close for a while. However, a real attack remained out.

Marko, who obviously has access to all the data, is happy with what Perez showed, so writes Motorsport-Total.com. The Mexican was driven at more than twenty seconds, but that was really the maximum. "Checo drove a great race and drove at the same level as Max," he said. Perez still wanted to go for the fastest race lap, but that was a hopeless mission. After all, Leclerc was a second per lap faster.

Drivers 2022

Marko is especially pleased that Perez has managed to improve significantly in qualifying compared to last season. Whether it will be enough for a contract extension remains to be seen. Reportedly, the Austrian formation will decide during the summer break who will be Verstappen's teammate in 2023. The other candidate is AlphaTauri driver Pierre Gasly.

For Red Bull, the stakes are high, as there is a plausible chance that Gasly will leave if he does not get a promotion. On the other hand, it also creates room again for Red Bull juniors who are currently making an appearance in Formula 2. Juri Vips and Liam Lawson seem to be two very suitable candidates to make the jump to the premier class of motor sport after this season.