Sergio Perez defended his 2021 season, saying that even the best drivers would struggle at a new team.
Perez switched to Red Bull after spending seven years at Force India and the subsequently rebranded Racing Point. It was a very different car at Milton-Keynes, one that was nothing like the one he spent many years driving.
As a result, the Mexican had an up-and-down season. Despite finishing a respectable P4 in the Drivers’ Championship, there was always the feeling that he could have done better. His qualification performances in particular were a mixed bag at best.
There was criticism lobbied at Perez for his inconsistency because of his inability to perform as well as Valtteri Bottas. It ended up costing Red Bull the Constructors’ title, but Checo insisted that it was normal in a debut season.
Perez defended his 2021 season performance, saying that any driver would struggle in their first season with a new team.
As quoted by GP Fans, hen asked if there were problems adapting to a new team, the two-time race winner said, “Yes. Of course, even as a driver you underestimate those things until you live them, you experience them.
“Driving a different power unit, it’s a completely different task. Driving a completely different philosophy of car with a higher rake versus a lower rake, it’s a completely different task.”
Normal stuff
“The way you approach things are just extremely different and you have to learn new techniques,” he continued.
“Basically, what I used to do, nothing really worked here (at Red Bull).
“It would be the same, for example, if Max (Verstappen) went to Mercedes. They (the cars) are just very different. They produce very similar lap times, but the way they get the lap time is extremely different.”