F1 News: Sergio Perez's Former Manager On Max Verstappen - "Calibre Of Senna, Schumacher, And Hamilton"
Sergio Perez's former manager Adrian Fernandez has spoken about his Red Bull teammate, Max Verstappen, and how "he is virtually untouchable at the moment".
During an interview with Dutch motorsport.com, Fernandez spoke about how far Perez has come but also how much he still needs to improve to be able to compete with two-time champion Verstappen. Fernandez explained:
“Max is just on a different level. He is of the calibre of Senna, Schumacher and Hamilton.
The former driver continued to highlight Verstappen's dominance in the sport and also how much he has improved. He added:
“Max is virtually untouchable at the moment. He hardly makes mistakes. And if something unexpectedly goes wrong, he still knows how to overcome that setback.
“Like in Austin. There, after a problem in the pits, he fought as if he were fighting for the World title, when he was already champion. The title was in, but he kept going for it every race. He remained the same Max.
“Although I think he has started driving more with his head, where he used to take too much risk and crash. He’s much more mature.
“And when you have someone next to you who is as strong as Max and always fast like him from the first lap, it is quite intimidating.”
Verstappen won fifteen races in 2022, setting a new record for the number of race wins in a season. Compared to that, Perez had two race wins in Monaco and Singapore. This was a massive improvement for the Mexican driver, however, he will constantly be compared to Verstappen as his teammate in the same car.
Since it was announced that Daniel Ricciardo has returned to the team as a reserve driver for 2023, many have questioned whether this might ultimately lead to Ricciardo taking Perez's spot on the team. Perez signed a two-year extension to his contract which runs out at the end of 2024.