Perez now sees two Red Bulls fight for victory: "Great boost"

It was a much needed one too, as Red Bull's start to the season was anything but smooth. The last few races, with Baku as a highlight, are going a lot better. Perez is now much more to find at the front and seems to get more out of the car. In a press release from Red Bull he says he still hasn't fully recovered from the victory in Baku.

"I feel very, very proud. It's a win that really shows how much work we've all put in since the beginning of January and it shows that hard work always pays off. It's also a great boost for the whole team to know that we have two cars that can fight for the championship and that we all really want to win." As you might expect, Perez, who was lying first at the time of the red flag following his teammate's crash, had a lot going through his mind.

"I thought I had everything to lose, it's only two laps, I'm on pole and it's our race that's lost. So I just tried to make the perfect start and it didn't work out for all sorts of reasons, but in the end I think we were lucky because who knows what would have happened if we'd had a good start with Lewis having problems with his brakes, so in the end it all worked out. I spoke to Stefano after the race and said to him "you guys really love the show!" and he said "well this is fantastic for the fans."

Perez on Verstappen

Perez is happy with his third place in the championship, but if possible even happier with his team and the fact that after Baku they have moved well ahead of rival Mercedes. He is therefore quite satisfied with every part of the team.

"I think we have a pretty good Team! I think what Max did was great to see, he really deserved the win and he did everything perfectly that weekend, he just had a lot of bad luck. Alex also puts so much work into the simulator and with the engineers. I remember not expecting him to be so open when I came here, but he explained to me how the car works and it was really nice to have him there from the first day. So I really appreciate that and I appreciate the work he's doing with the team."

Perez on Paul Ricard

Yet Perez also remains cool, even after such an important win as in Azerbaijan. "It's only the sixth race and as I said, it doesn't matter where we are now, it's about where we finish in Abu Dhabi, so we just need to step up and make sure we get the most out of our car. I've been in Formula 1 for many years and I know so many things can happen, so we have to keep our cool. What happened is in the past and we just have to keep looking forward."

This weekend Max Verstappen, Sergio Perez and Red Bull will be looking to extend their lead in the Constructors' Championship.