Marko thinks Perez is better than Bottas: "He's more than Verstappen's wingman"

Red Bull Racing scored a double podium in France. Sergio Perez managed to overtake Valtteri Bottas in the closing stages of the race to secure third place. According to Helmut Marko Perez played an important role in the final result for both drivers.

Perez played crucial role in French GP win

Toto Wolff said Mercedes would have attempted a two-stop with at least one car if Perez had not been in the pitstop window, a strategy that could have potentially made things a lot more difficult for Red Bull Racing.

Helmut Marko agrees. "That's why we hired Perez. He is not called the tyre whisperer for nothing. That's why he could drive a one-stop in France, and that's why he got close enough to Mercedes to make them unsure. And that's why at the end he was able to overtake Bottas, who was on the same strategy," he told German Sport1.

Marko: 'Perez is currently better than Bottas'

He continued: "It's clear that Perez is currently doing better than Bottas. That's exactly what we want and need, and what we missed in recent years. He is more than Max's wingman. When Max is unlucky, like with his blowout in Baku, Sergio is there to win the race for us. Mercedes has seen that too."

According to the Red Bull Racing chief, Mercedes therefore now has no room to play games. "They can't play with the strategy anymore like they did in other years. And they are already making mistakes. Perez will become even stronger in the future, and the pressure on Mercedes will only increase," Marko concludes.