Red Bull has failed to recover since Daniel Ricciardo left the team during the 2018 season. The team is believed to be happy for the first time in a while regarding its driver line-up following the acquisition of Sergio Perez.
After the departure of Alex Albon, David Coulthard believes one key factor will work in Sergio Perez’ favour.
“Sergio is an experienced and professional racing driver you can always rely on in a Formula 1 car,” said Coulthard.
It also helps that Perez does not feel overawed by Verstappen and he also doesn’t look like he is ready to settle with being the team’s second choice.
“He’s exactly what Red Bull needs. Because I have a lot of respect for Alex Albon, but he couldn’t handle the Max factor because he wasn’t a mature driver,” Coulthard said.
Perez gave a glimpse of his ability during his debut for the team in Bahrain. While Red Bull is believed to have a strong car for the 2021 season, Perez was able to overcome a poor qualifying session to end the race in 5th position.
“This is exactly what the team needs to work in to become the champion,” he said.
“Perez knew every detail of Racing Point very well. But now he’s trying to understand his new car better. He needs to know all the keys and everything else very well.
“I think we should give him six months, but I think he could be a great teammate for Max.”
The early signs are that Perez is a good recruitment for Red Bull. Do you think he will assist Max Verstappen in a championship fight?