Top 50 Drivers of 2021
Autosport 2021 Top 50: #25 Sergio Perez
4th in Formula 1 World Championship
There were races where he backed up Max Verstappen brilliantly – Baku, Paul Ricard – but others where he was notably absent from the lead fight, which is where Red Bull hired him to be.
Spain was a good example: he qualified poorly, then couldn’t pass slower cars.
His mid-season dip was down to altering his set-up away from Verstappen’s to make hustling the RB16B easier – but this cost lap time so he switched back and improved by getting used to the tricky machine, key to his late podium streak.
The Baku win was his highlight, which was remarkable considering a hydraulic problem meant he was on the verge of late retirement.
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