Perez no longer copying Verstappen’s set-up
Sergio Perez is no longer following Max Verstappen’s approach in the RB16B, instead finding his own style.
The Mexican was brought in for the 2021 season with the task of supporting Red Bull’s bid for the Drivers’ and Constructors’ Championships, and a steady improvement from Perez throughout the opening rounds of the season has put them on track for exactly that.
Over the past couple of seasons both Pierre Gasly and Alex Albon were unable to adapt to the Red Bull machinery, and for Perez he too had his difficulties in the early stages.
But now, he is starting to match his revised driving style to the RB16B, rather than just following what Verstappen does, with the back-to-back races at the Red Bull Ring proving the perfect place to carry out those experiments.
“We’ve been exploring a lot the car, we took this opportunity to get to know the car a lot better, from the reference we had. So in the end we did the right adjustments,” he is quoted by Motorsport.com.
“I’m starting to find my own way, my own direction progressively.
“And yeah, also when you don’t have both cars on the same spec, on the same aerodynamic spec, it’s harder to compare, you know, to compare set-up. So it’s important that we go our [own] route in this case.”
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Perez picked up his first win in Red Bull colours back at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, benefitting from a tyre failure for Verstappen while the Dutchman was leading the race.
That victory was followed by a podium at the French Grand Prix, races which marked a major step forward for Perez in his Red Bull career.
A P4 and P6 finish followed at the Styrian and Austrian GPs, both held around the Red Bull Ring, leaving Perez P3 in the Drivers’ Championship heading into the British Grand Prix, 78 points behind Verstappen at the top of the standings.
Red Bull meanwhile boast a 44-point lead over Mercedes in the Constructors’ Championship.
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