Helmut Marko has praised Sergio Perez for “surviving alongside Max Verstappen” over the last two years as he goes into his third year as the World Champion’s team-mate.
Perez joined the Red Bull in 2021, replacing Alex Albon, who became the team’s simulator and reserve driver before joining Williams in 2022.
Though he remains unable to match his team-mate, Perez played a vital part in the 2021 title decider at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and helped secure the Teams’ Championship in 2022, taking two victories in the process.
Speaking to German website sport.de, Marko complimented the Mexican, who started his third year with Red Bull with a second-place finish in Bahrain.
“Sergio has survived two years alongside Max without being broken like most drivers. That is a great achievement.”
The Austrian believes that Perez has had to accept and acknowledge that Verstappen “has no weaknesses,” but emphasizes that the Mexican won’t “give up.”
Marko also spoke about the goal for this year and dismissed the idea that Perez will always have to give way to his team-mate.
“Overall, the goal is that we want to win first and second place in the World Championship. From our point of view, it is not predetermined that that is Max.”
Perez’s current contract with Red Bull is set to expire at the end of 2024, and Marko is in no rush to comment on the driver’s future beyond that.
“We have to see how everything goes,” Marko added. “Such talks and considerations usually start before or after the summer break.”
