Perez excited to 'start from zero' after intense first year at Red Bull

Sergio Perez is excited to be "starting from zero" after an "intense" debut season with Red Bull.

The Mexican secured a victory and multiple podiums in his first campaign as part of F1's elite, helping Max Verstappen's charge against Mercedes to earn a maiden drivers' title.

Despite initial struggles, Perez ended the season with promising form and was rewarded with a contract extension from Red Bull as it enters F1's new era with significant aerodynamic regulation changes.

Addressing his first year with the team, Perez said: "It was an intense season, getting up to speed with a new team, especially with a team fighting for a championship from race one, so there was no time for any adaptation. It was straight into it.

"But it was very enjoyable, and we gave it our all until the very last lap of the season."

Red Bull will hit the track with its new RB18 for the first time in Barcelona on February 23 as F1 gets pre-season testing underway.

"It feels like we were in Abu Dhabi yesterday but on the other hand I'm so excited to start the new season," added Perez.

"We're already working a lot with the engineers, and we cannot wait to be on track with these new cars.

"We're starting from zero, all of us."

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