Autobayng News Team
Max Verstappen has welcomed his former team mate Sergio Perez’s coming return to Formula 1 with the new team Cadillac.
The pair spent four seasons together at Red Bull, during which time Verstappen won the drivers’ championship on every occasion. But while Perez won five times for the team, his form gradually dipped, and over his final eight rounds he scored just nine points.
However Verstappen said Perez, who has spent 14 years racing in F1, is a better driver than he appeared to be during his final months at Red Bull.
“It’s a fresh start now,” said Verstappen. “I think it’s not about one half of a season – that doesn’t define what you can do.
“I think he’s also quite easy [about] that. Some people maybe dwell on it a bit more, but for Checo, it’s a new start.”
Verstappen congratulated his former team mate after his move to Cadillac was announced earlier this week. “When I saw the news come out I sent a message to him,” he said.
“I’m, of course, very happy for him that he got a seat. He’s a great guy and we always got along very well so I’m happy to see him back on the grid.
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“How he’s going to perform will also depend on how good the car is going to be. It’s a bit difficult to say at the moment, but it’s a new opportunity and I’m sure he’s very excited for it.”
Perez will return to F1 in time for next year’s extensive overhaul of the technical regulations. Verstappen said Perez will bring valuable experience to Cadillac’s all-new team.
“He has driven for a lot of different teams so he knows a lot about how teams work. Every single team works a little differently. That’s already a very interesting trait – it’s nice to understand what people are good at or where some teams are worse. That’s how it goes.
“Also, the behaviour of cars – he’s been in a lot of different regulations, a lot of different rule sets – some things were allowed, some were not, got banned, things like that. So to have that general understanding of how a great car is, how a car is that’s not fantastic – I think it’s very valuable for them to start with.
“He has worked with many big teams, so hopefully that will push them forward in the beginning, because it’s never easy to jump into Formula 1 and be competitive straight away. But we’ll see how that goes.”
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