F1 News
Perez already better than Bottas: 'He can help Verstappen better'
- GPblog.com
Red Bull Racing has found an experienced driver in Sergio Perez who will be able to score points alongside Max Verstappen. Perez failed to do so at Imola, but Jacques Villeneuve is confident the Mexican will do better than Valtteri Bottas at Mercedes.
Villeneuve looks to Red Bull Racing
That the 2021 Formula One championship will be between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen is clear after two races, but Perez and Bottas also play a big role in that championship. The Bahrain Grand Prix showed that two drivers for Mercedes can give a strategic advantage against one faster driver of the other team.
Villeneuve knows better than anyone that a second driver can play a crucial role in the championship. The Canadian became world champion himself in 1997 but also got a lot of help from Heinz-Harald Frentzen. The German was too late to compete for the world title, but together they were able to put pressure on the lonely Michael Schumacher because Eddie Irvine didn't respond.
Perez better than Bottas?
''Without his support, especially in the last race, it would have been very difficult for me. In the last race of the season, we were now able to put pressure on Schumacher together, while Irvine did not play any role'', Villeneuve says to Sport1.de. The Canadian is therefore watching Perez with great interest.
''Perez is the newcomer at Red Bull Racing, but he is already stronger than Bottas, even though the latter is already in his fifth season for Mercedes. Perez can help Verstappen more than Bottas can for Hamilton,'' the former Williams driver concludes.