Verstappen under pressure from Perez: 'Interesting to see how he deals with it'

Red Bull Racing's second driver

Mercedes has won all the world titles in Formula 1 over the past seven years without really having a major rival. Ferrari came close in 2017 and 2018, but also could not fight until the end of the season. Red Bull hopes to be in the race in 2021, and with Perez they seem to have at least a good second driver in house this year.

''Red Bull's weakness was that they always had the Sword of Damocles hanging over the second driver. Perez doesn't have that, because he's not tied to Red Bull training or Helmut Marko,'' Buxton said in a new video from Formula1.com. The Formula One journalist is joined by his colleague Barretto.

Perez versus Verstappen

''Checo I think is the magic card for that team. He has nothing to lose and is not under pressure from Marko. He wants to perform for himself and show that he can do that with a top car. If that succeeds, it will also be interesting how Max Verstappen will handle that. Will it push him, or will he make more mistakes? That dynamic will be very interesting to follow in 2021.''

Yet Barretto does not think Perez will be the winner of the duel. ''He will perform consistently over a year and be there when Max is not there. That's why I don't think he will beat Max over a whole year. The line-up of Mercedes and Red Bull are close. Perez still has to show it in a top car, which is not so easy. However, with what we have seen so far, we know he can be strong in any car'', Barretto concludes.