Max Verstappen admits being motivated by Sergio Perez comparison

A disgruntled Sergio Perez looks over at Max Verstappen — Photo: © LAT Images

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Verstappen admits being motivated by Perez comparison

The Dutchman has said that his team-mate's label gave him the motivation he needed

Tyler Rowlinson

Monday 11 December 2023 18:57

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Max Verstappen has revealed that his team-mate Sergio Perez’s label as F1’s ‘Street King’ motivated him to prove people wrong.

Heading into the Miami Grand Prix, the two Red Bull drivers were separated by six points in the Dutchman’s favour, having each won two of the opening four races.

With Perez putting his car on pole and Verstappen down in ninth thanks to a late red flag for Charles Leclerc, many people, notably his father and pundits, were labelling Checo as F1’s ‘Street King’ following wins in Jeddah and Baku.

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But it was the three-time champion who won the race, overtaking Perez on lap 48 of 57 and finished five seconds ahead. What followed was a record-breaking 10-race win streak for Verstappen, while Perez went on a disastrous qualifying run. By the time he had recovered, his team-mate had already sewn up the championship, winning it with more than double the Mexican’s point tally.

Sergio Perez was labelled F1's 'street king' following his wins in Saudi Arabia and Azerbaijan

But his team-mate Max Verstappen went on to win the next 10 races in a row

Verstappen: 'Perez label doesn't scare me'

Speaking with PlanetF1.com, Verstappen revealed that Perez’ people and pundits talking up his ability on street tracks gave him the motivation for his charge.

“It only makes me even more motivated to show that it is not the case,” he said. “That is actually the wrong motivation for other people, but it’s not like that scares me.

“Certain media, for example from Mexico or Spanish-language media, are of course hyping that. People are of course hoping for a title fight anyway.”

Verstappen more than doubled his team-mate's points tally for the season

He added: “I also know that at the start of the season, we will never really get the circuits that suit me perfectly. Those tracks will only come later in the year, the faster circuits with lots of fast corners.

‘I wasn’t worried at all at that moment. It was just a matter of us having to tie certain details together a little better. In the end, we succeeded quite well after Baku.”

Red Bull Max Verstappen Charles Leclerc Sergio Perez Miami Grand Prix