Sergio “Checo” Pérez He has earned the recognition of Helmut Marko for his performance so far in the 2024 Formula 1 season where the Mexican has had good performances that keep him on the lookout for his teammate, Max Verstappen in the drivers’ classification.
The advisor of the Red Bull team considers that this great start that the team from Guadalajara has had is due to a change in the mentality that the driver has had with respect to what was last season in which, although he achieved the runner-up position, he had many ups and downs throughout the calendar.
“What makes me happy is that Sergio “Checo” Pérez is showing better performances in this first part of the season than a year ago”wrote the former F1 driver in his weekly opinion column published in Speedweek, referring to the change he has seen in the Mexican driver.
Although “Checo” Pérez achieved a couple of victories at the beginning of last season, he gradually made mistakes and ended up having difficult moments that contrasted with the impressive dominance shown by the Dutchman who won his third world championship title. F1.
“Checo Pérez no longer goes out on the track with the argument that he wants to beat Max”Marko added, showing that the Mexican is more focused on what he can do and improve himself without complicating his teammate with whom he has come to be very close in some races in 2024.
“By this I mean that, in 2023, he almost desperately tried to follow it, but when it came to deciding his configuration, it was not appropriate. So he tried to get closer to Max technically with a different setup, but now, he gave up on that.”the Austrian explained his opinion about the man from Guadalajara.
Helmut Marko, who in the past was one of the fiercest critics of Sergio “Checo” Pérez, continued to highlight the Mexican’s good moment: “There’s not much to complain about either, without the unfortunate safety car moment I probably would have finished second in China”.
However, he also had a small criticism for the 34-year-old driver who is still unclear about his future with Red Bull for next season after his contract with the energy drink team ends.
“When stuck in traffic, you are less able to exploit your tire-saving qualities.“added the Austrian who was also surprised by the level of Red Bull’s rivals, specifically the case of Ferrari, from whom he expects much “more strength.”
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