It is clear to say that the star of qualifying for the second race of the 2021 season was Red Bull’s Sergio Perez. I am pretty sure that no one would’ve expected that Sergio would be outqualifying Max Verstappen a mere 2 races into the season. But he has managed to do so, and considering how much his predecessors struggled in that second Red Bull, it was an incredible effort for the Mexican driver. And this poses the question that has been on many people’s lips since the qualifying session ended. Can Sergio Perez win tomorrow’s race?
The simple answer is that it is certainly a real possibility. Sergio is known to be incredible at driving efficiently. We saw this when he took his maiden win at the Sakhir Grand Prix last year, as well as in the season opener 3 weeks ago in Bahrain. He is among the best on the grid at driving at good pace whilst managing the tyres, and that could no doubt help him tomorrow. It can also be said his team have an advantage in the sense that with Valtteri Bottas down in eighth on the grid, it is two Red Bulls against one Mercedes, so which ever Red Bull is in front, providing both cars are still in the good position, they can easily work as a team to win the race.
But he does have a fight on his hands, as he has the task of getting the better of a seven time champion. Not an easy feat, especially as Lewis Hamilton is also known to be an expert at driving efficiently. He will also have his team-mate Max Verstappen, who will want to get ahead of him as soon as he possibly can, if he gets in front of Sergio at the start, it is hard to see how he could get back ahead.
One thing that is for certain is Sergio Perez taking Red Bull’s first victory of the season would be a massive statement. It would make it clear to the world, and more critically, Max Verstappen, that he is not here to be a number 2. He is here to win, and here to fight for the championship, which could potentially rattle the Dutchman who may not have been expecting a huge fight within the team. And surely we’d start considering Sergio as a legitimate title contender.
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