Helmut Marko: Sergio Perez is not on the same level as Red Bull teammate Max Verstappen

Sergio Perez is a great F1 driver but he's not on the same level as Max Verstappen. This is the view of Red Bull chief advisor Helmut Marko. Speaking to AMUS, Marko looked back at the 2022 F1 season and talked about Red Bull did benefit quite a bit from Ferrari's bad luck and strategic mistakes earlier in the season. Speaking about the car, Marko revealed that the car was almost 20kg over the weight limit.

This was something attributed to keeping Sergio Perez closer to Max Verstappen in terms of performances over a single lap earlier in the season. However, as the car kept shedding more and more weight and gaining performance, Max Verstappen started pulling away while Sergio Perez could not keep up.

According to Helmut Marko, a lot of it has to do with the fact that Max Verstappen is an exceptional driver and not only Sergio Perez but everyone else on the grid will find it hard to keep up with the Dutch driver. He said:

“We certainly benefited from Ferrari’s strategic mistakes, from bad luck on their side, from the engine failures. In addition, our car was 20 kilograms overweight at the beginning. That was a reserve that brought a reliable time gain on the race track as soon as we could reduce the weight. Every kilogram less is a certain time gain in practice."

He added:

“This has also changed the driving behaviour in such a way that Verstappen can use it optimally. And if Max can drive at the limit and has the confidence, then that’s something different than if someone else drives at the limit. Our car is where Perez is. And Perez is a very good Formula 1 driver, but he is no Verstappen.”

Sergio Perez relaxed about his future at Red Bull

Sergio Perez recently saw former Red Bull driver Daniel Ricciardo signed as a reserve driver for the team. The Australian had two poor seasons with McLaren but there is still a belief that he can perform at a high level.

Red Bull bringing him to the team is even looked at as a step to keep the pressure on Sergio Perez. The Mexican, however, does not look at things this way and told Sky Sports:

“I’m pretty relaxed. I mean, we live under a lot of pressure all the time. It doesn’t change anything from my side, I think it’s a great achievement for the team to have a driver like Daniel and he’s going to contribute a lot to our team. He’s a great guy, he’s one of the guys that I get on [with] the most in the paddock, so I think it’s just great to have Daniel in the team, and from my side doesn’t change anything.”

It will be interesting to keep an eye on Perez in 2023 as his performances could have a bearing on how the next chapter of his stay at Red Bull is decided.