Priestley expects whoever is fastest at Red Bull to be number one

With the signing of the much experienced Sergio Perez, Red Bull finally has a second driver to back up Max Verstappen. Marc Priestley has been analysing the strengths of the Mexican driver and argues why his move to Red Bull can be both a blessing and a curse for the team.  

Whether they can challenge the power of Mercedes next year remains to be seen, but at least Priestley expects an exciting battle between the two Red Bull drivers next year. Priestley explained, in a live stream on his Youtube channel: “That is gonna be interesting. We don’t know how Checho is going to perform in that car. We know what Max can do and it’s absolutely, blistering quick. He’s the benchmark for any driver coming into that team.”

“We’ve got high hopes for Checho. He could find himself on the same bit of tarmac as Max Verstappen for a large part of next season, maybe. Red Bull will hope for that to some extent, because they are both fighting at the front.”

Vettel vs Webber

However, the presence of two fast drivers can turn just as quickly into a situation like that of Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber in the early 2010s, where the rivalries between them sabotaged the team's wider ambitions.

“Then they get into an issue that they haven’t had for a few years. Basically since Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber. They were fighting each other, and that brings a whole new dynamic, a whole new challenge for the management team at Red Bull to try to overcome.”

Priestley also raises the possibility that Verstappen could lose the favour of Helmut Marko and Christian Horner when Perez is faster in the Red Bull.

“Whoever ends up being the number one driver at Red Bull will be whoever’s fastest.”