“We will only get stronger” – Sergio Perez believes he’ll become better the longer he stays with Red Bull

Sergio Perez believes he’ll “only get stronger” as a driver, if he continues to stay at Red Bull. After being signed to drive alongside Max Verstappen for the 2021 season, Perez’s season got off to a rough start.

While his in-race performances were often comparable to Verstappen, Perez struggled to extract the most out of his car in qualifying.

In a post-season interview with GPfans, the Mexican driver said:

"Before the first race, I did a day and a half but the first day was to do aero stuff, so I did nothing before the first race. So many aspects have to be considered but all in all, it's a promising season. Obviously, I will have hoped for more, but it is what it is. I just have to keep pushing. We had some positives, we had some negatives, but we will only get stronger the longer we are together."

Perez' inconsistent performances might have caused Red Bull the constructors' championship in 2021. However, he played a crucial role in helping Max Verstappen win his maiden driver's championship. The Mexican's courage and skills in Turkey, Brazil and Abu Dhabi greatly aided Verstappen to take home the 2021 F1 title. His efforts have been lauded by the majority of the F1 community.

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Sergio Perez says his struggles during the first half of the season were due to Red Bull’s different aero philosophy

After switching to Milton Keynes from Aston Martin, Perez had very little time to get up to speed with his new team, and most importantly the Red Bull RB16B.

The Mexican says that his adaption from a “different philosophy” took him longer than expected. He credited his strong performances during the tail end of the season to him getting more accustomed to the new car and team.

In a post-season interview with GPfans, “Checo” Perez said:

"We have to take into account the fact that I came into a very different philosophy of car compared to what I've been driving all my career. In that aspect, it has been a slow adaptation, but yes, just a very different car, very different engine. A lot of things to learn with a new team with no testing, basically.”

He added:

"Just trying things, just working throughout. Right now, I finally understand how to drive the car, how to exploit the maximum out of it. That's why the results were a lot better."

Perez had a poor first half of the season but scored his only second career victory in Azerbaijan. It was his first win with Red Bull. It was only after the Russian Grand Prix that the Mexican came into his own. He scored a string of podium finishes while being a solid wingman for Verstappen during those races.