CHECO PEREZ READY TO START HIS NEW ‘CHALLENGE’

An outstanding 2020 campaign, in which Sergio Perez claimed a shock maiden victory in the Sakhir Grand Prix on his way to a career-best fourth place in the championship, prompted Red Bull to offer him a seat to become Max Verstappen’s new teammate, replacing the underperforming Alex Albon.

Sergio Perez described himself as like “a dog finding a new family” following his first days working with Red Bull Racing in Formula 1.

Perez spent seven years with Force India/Racing Point but a planned stay through 2022 was cut short by two seasons after the team opted to recruit Sebastian Vettel.

Perez went on to finish the 2020 championship in fourth place, taking his maiden victory at last month’s Sakhir round, and secured a 2021 seat with Red Bull Racing.

The Mexican forged a reputation for grabbing opportunities when with Force India/Racing, as well as during his formative years at Sauber, and has vowed to “overdeliver” with the RB16B.

“I am always pushing to the maximum and last year I finally had a car that I could show a bit more and people saw what I am capable of, but now is my big opportunity,” said Perez in his first interview as a Red Bull driver.

“I have to go onto the next step in all aspects and I think I’m ready for it. The only thing I was lacking was the opportunity. Now I have it, it’s up to me to make it work.

“I’m going to make sure I overdeliver. If we have a car that can win the championship, I’ll make sure we win it.

“And if not, and we only have a car that’s good enough for third I will make sure that we finish second.”

Perez last week visited Red Bull Racing’s factory in Milton Keynes, meeting senior personnel, undertaking a seat fitting, and carrying out simulator duties.

“It’s amazing to be part of the Red Bull family,” said Perez. “When you come here you realise, straightaway, why they’ve been successful, the amount of infrastructure they have and the very capable people they have.

“I can’t wait to get on track with my group of people.

“Obviously, I’ve been seven years with a team, so it feels a bit different, it’s like a dog finding a new family, being with a family for seven years and you are used to them and all of a sudden you are changing.

“But I’m starting to feel very comfortable here, it’s a fantastic team, I can see there’s a lot of fun ahead of us.”

CHECO PEREZ NEW CHALLENGE CHECO PEREZ NEW CHALLENGE

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