One round after Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen capped off his second championship with victory at the Japanese Grand Prix, the focus turned to giving Sergio Perez a career-best points finish. The American Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas (COTA).
And they enter on a momentum that is currently winning seven races in a row. Red Bull Racing teammates Perez and Verstappen have won 14 of the first 18 races of the 2022 season.
Notably, Perez was runner-up last week in Suzuka City. In doing so, he scored three points over Charles Leclerc and finished second in the championship by one point. That’s the position he wants to hold for the rest of the season.
Red Bull finished 1st and 2nd in five races this season: the Romagna GP, the Spanish GP, the Azerbaijan GP, the Belgian GP and last week in Japan. Verstappen got them all. But with such a thin margin for Leclerc to enter his COTA, his extra seven points awarded to him first over second could help him in any of his next four races. prize.
Last year Perez got a lot of momentum by finishing fifth in points.
“Having two strong performances, Austin and Mexico, is very important and important[in the Americas race],” Perez said during a Zoom visit to the ExxonMobil campus in Houston, Texas, this week. “It would be great if we could get a lot of points in the next two races, so we can go into the last two races with a little bit of headroom.”
If history repeats itself, Perez has a good chance of scoring points this week. Last year he entered the United States Grand Prix in 5th place, followed by back-to-back podiums in Texas and Mexico. One round later, he finished fourth at the Brazilian Grand Prix, aiming for a top-three points performance. An accident at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix and a low oil pressure in Abu Dhabi kept him out of the finish, but he lined up for a career-best fourth place finish.
Perez knows he needs to consistently outperform Ferrari’s Leclerc over the final four rounds of 2022. The good news is that his momentum from last year could gain the upper hand.
“I had two good races. [last year]said Perez. “We were on the podium in both races so hopefully we can put everything in order in the last four races. I think.”
In 18 seasons, Red Bull has won five championships by 2022. Sebastian Vettel won his four in a row from his 2010 to his 2013. Verstappen got his last two, but what he lacks is his 1-2 sweep. Achieving that goal will take the team to a new level.
“It’s amazing for the team,” Perez said. “This has never been done in our history. It’s great to do it for the first time.
With Verstappen already winning the title, it’s time to shift focus to Perez.
“I hope to get more support from everyone in the team to score maximum points,” Perez said. “Certainly, if Max is in a position to support me, I believe he will.”
There’s not a lot of pressure on Perez right now. In May, Red Bull announced the Mexican driver’s contract extension until 2024, and now is the time to deliver on that promise.
“This is meant to be a great moment for everyone,” Perez said. “We need to make sure that we continue to do that over the next few years.”
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