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Perez the ideal second man at Red Bull? 'Ricciardo was just passed over'

Perez the ideal second man at Red Bull? 'Ricciardo was just passed over'

30-05-2022 14:56

GPblog.com

With Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing has an ideal second man alongside Max Verstappen. At least that is what Olav Mol and Robert Doornbos say. The Mexican won the Monaco Grand Prix and finds himself joining Charles Leclerc in the championship.

Perez drives perfect weekend

Verstappen would have preferred the win to run further ahead of Leclerc, but Red Bull maximized the score in Monaco by finishing on P1 and P3 after starting from the second row of the grid. Verstappen was not in utmost form all weekend, so he was beaten by Perez. The second driver additionally defeated both Ferrari's.

After his victory, the Mexican inadvertently talked his way out of a newly signed contract with Red Bull. The Ziggo Race Cafe discusses Perez's victory. Although he had some luck with Ferrari's blunder, former F1 driver Robert Doornbos still thinks it was his own doing:

"Perez also earned it on his own merit. This weekend he was just super. Max hasn't made this before, that a teammate drove like this." If Perez continues this line, he will pass Leclerc in the championship for P2 in Baku. Then he can get close to Verstappen for the lead in the championship. Whether Perez is still the perfect number two then remains to be seen.

The ideal second driver

F1 reporter Olav Mol calls Perez in any case the best second driver that Verstappen has had. Daniel Ricciardo was not, according to the Ziggo analyst, because he has just been passed by the Dutchman: "When Ricciardo was there, Ricciardo was the first man and Max was the second man. That changed and then he went off. Perez is just the best second driver he has had."