Sergio Perez adhered to Max Verstappen’s RB20 setup for the Japanese Grand Prix as the Mexican driver secured his third podium finish of the season.
Sergio Perez (left), Max Verstappen (right), Helmut Marko (center) (images via IMAGO).
The exceptional performance of Max Verstappen in recent races has been difficult for anyone else on the grid to replicate. Sergio Perez has been overshadowed by his teammate’s incredible results. Since joining the team in 2021, the Mexican driver has been unable to outperform Verstappen. Red Bull Motorsport Consultant Dr. Helmut Marko acknowledged that Perez simply couldn’t beat his Dutch counterpart.
Marko stated that Perez was much closer to Verstappen compared to his disastrous campaign last year. Notably, Checo has been using the same setup for the RB20 as the reigning world champion, which Marko believes is the most effective. Marko didn’t hesitate to admit that the 34-year-old couldn’t beat Verstappen even with the same setup. Therefore, there was no point in Perez experimenting with different setups for his car.
Helmut Marko pointed out that Sergio Perez’s mindset had changed from the previous season, as he now focused on being as good as possible in the car. Marko also mentioned Perez’s runner-up finishes in the early races. Furthermore, Perez was much closer to Max Verstappen during most of the qualifying sessions in the 2024 season.
Sergio Perez has struggled to achieve strong results in qualifying throughout the years. Helmut Marko recently made a sarcastic comment about Perez’s qualifying performances, as the Mexican driver placed his car on the front row for the race. Marko noted that it had been a long time since Checo started a race from such a favorable position. Therefore, Perez’s performance at the Japanese Grand Prix exceeded the team advisor’s expectations at Red Bull.
The 80-year-old praised the efforts of the Milton Keynes team after a fantastic 1-2 finish at Suzuka. Red Bull bounced back after a difficult weekend at the Australian Grand Prix. Marko emphasized that the updates made to the RB20 immediately proved to be effective. Additionally, the team successfully fine-tuned the car according to the drivers’ preferences.
Red Bull will continue to make minor adjustments to their car in order to further extend their lead over the competition. Currently, Milton Keynes is on track to have another dominant season similar to the previous year. Therefore, all attention will be on the Red Bulls during the Chinese Grand Prix weekend, and how the Austrian team defends against the improving pace of their rival team in the pinnacle of motorsport.