Having switched from his longtime home at Racing Point, Perez struggled for much of the 2021 season to get fully up to speed with the RB16B.
A win in Baku in June was a major boost, and he logged four third places on his way to securing fourth in the points table.
However, new world champion Verstappen outscored him by 395.5 points to 190.
In the Abu Dhabi finale Perez was able to play a supporting role by holding up Lewis Hamilton, allowing Verstappen to close the gap to the Mercedes driver, before making his tyre stop.
A grateful Verstappen subsequently called the Mexican “a legend” in a radio message to the pit wall.
“Very intense,” said Perez when asked by Autosport to sum up his season. “It’s been extremely intensive. A lot of work has been done behind the scenes, a lot of pressure.
“When you are at Red Bull Racing the pressure is on and everyone is watching you, what you do and you guys are obviously a lot harder to a Red Bull driver, which is very understandable.
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