Sergio Perez has revealed how four seasons alongside Max Verstappen at Red Bull helped make him a faster Formula 1 driver, highlighting the Dutchman’s leadership, work ethic and rare ability to guide a team towards the performance it needs. Now back on the grid with Cadillac, the Mexican has reflected on the lessons he took from one of the most demanding periods of his F1 career.
Before returning to Formula 1 this season with newcomer Cadillac, Sergio Perez spent four eventful years at Red Bull. The Mexican joined the Milton Keynes team in 2021, claimed several victories and contributed to its championship successes, but also faced the formidable challenge of sharing a garage with Max Verstappen, who became World Champion at the end of each of those four seasons.
It was a complicated period at times for Sergio Perez, particularly when his own results declined, but it also provided valuable lessons that he believes have made him a better driver.
Sergio Perez explains what he learned from Max Verstappen
Speaking on the High Performance podcast, Sergio Perez stressed just how important his experience alongside Max Verstappen proved to be for his own development.
“Being four years next to Max, he’s a driving force,” Sergio Perez said. “Although he has all the support you can dream of as a racing driver, Max is a tremendous force, a tremendous, complete driver in all areas.”
Sergio Perez endured more pronounced periods of poor results than Max Verstappen during their time as team-mates, but that contrast also allowed him to observe qualities in the four-time World Champion that extended well beyond pure driving speed.
Verstappen’s leadership stood out inside Red Bull
For Sergio Perez, one of Max Verstappen’s greatest strengths is his ability to push the people around him and clearly understand what he requires from both the car and the team.
“Max is a pure leader in how he pushes everyone around him in performance. He knows exactly what he needs to go quick and where he’s lacking. He’s a tremendous hard worker as well. So, learning that from Max and seeing that firsthand for four years in very different cars, that has definitely made me a faster driver.”
The ability to understand where performance is missing is only part of the equation. Sergio Perez believes Max Verstappen also possesses a relatively rare skill when it comes to communicating that weakness and directing his engineers towards a solution.
Perez highlights rare Verstappen ability to guide car development
According to Sergio Perez, not every Formula 1 driver is capable of providing a team with such a clear technical direction. Max Verstappen’s ability to identify a weakness and then help those around him work towards correcting it was another important lesson from their years together.
“Pushing the team in a certain direction, giving them the direction, not many drivers can do that. Telling them exactly where we are lacking and how we can get there is something very, very unique that I’ve learned.”
Sergio Perez’s Red Bull chapter therefore provided more than victories and difficult comparisons with one of Formula 1’s leading drivers. Working alongside Max Verstappen for four seasons gave him the opportunity to study how a World Champion approaches leadership, technical feedback and the relentless pursuit of performance.
Now competing for Cadillac, Sergio Perez believes those lessons remain part of the driver he has become. Max Verstappen’s natural speed may have made him an exceptionally difficult team-mate to face, but it was the Dutchman’s work behind the scenes, and his ability to influence the direction of the entire team, that left one of the strongest impressions.
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