[ad_1]
Sergio Pérez has signed to compete with Red Bull alongside Max Verstappen in 2021.
The 30-year-old Mexican, who took his first Formula 1 victory At this month’s Sakhir Grand Prix, he replaces British-Thai Alex Albon, who will remain with the team as a reserve driver.
Red Bull decided that Albon hadn’t performed strong enough in his 18 months with the team to justify continuing in a racing seat.
Pérez was preferred over another seasoned candidate, Nico Hulkenberg.
It’s Perez’s first chance at a true front car in a decade-long F1 career.
He was in danger of losing his seat in the sport following Racing Point’s decision to sign Sebastian Vettel, four times champion on a three-year contract starting in 2021 with partner Lance Stroll, son of team owner Lawrence Stroll.
The Red Bull seat offered him a lifeline that many will feel his performances this season are justified in.
Perez missed two races in the summer after contracting coronavirus, but still finished fourth in the drivers ‘championship behind Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas, plus Verstappen.
His victory in Bahrain came after outstanding driving in which he was last on the first lap after being crashed by Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, but he made his way down the field before profiting from the troubles that took George Russell’s Mercedes out , replacing Hamilton and Bottas.
He also took second place at the November Turkish Grand Prix.
Pérez made his F1 debut for Sauber 2011, earning a second place for the team at the 2012 Malaysian Grand Prix. His performances there earned him a place at McLaren for 2013, but the team was beginning a competitive decline and was later eliminated. year-long, in part as a result of a political fight between President Ron Dennis and Managing Director Martin Whitmarsh.
Pérez joined what was then called Force India in 2014 and had stayed there ever since, and was instrumental in forcing the management process that toppled former owner Vijay Mallya and allowed Stroll to buy the team.
Despite driving for midfield teams his entire career, Pérez has achieved a podium finish in six of his nine seasons in F1.
Red Bull gave Albon every chance to justify keeping him in the seat, but the team was not convinced.
Verstappen surpassed him in qualifying in all 2020 races and was on average 0.523 seconds per lap slower.
In racing, while Verstappen had two victories and nine other podiums in 17 races, Albon’s best results were two third places at the Tuscan and Bahrain Grand Prix.
He also spun while competing for good results at the Emilia Romagna and Turkey races.
[ad_2]
