Can Sergio Perez Keep the Pressure on Max Verstappen?

Does Sergio Perez’s win in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, which left him only six points behind Max Verstappen in the driver standings, make him a true challenger to Verstappen for the world championship?

Any driver six points out of the lead after four races should of course be considered a championship contender. But we have to consider that almost everything worked in Perez’s favor over the weekend at Baku. Perez won the sprint race on Saturday (April 29th), helped in part by Verstappen’s clash with George Russell. The win gave Perez eight points, trimming two from Verstappen’s (who scored six) championship lead.

In Sunday’s (April 30th) Grand Prix, Perez’s win, aided by a fortunate pit stop under the safety car (while Verstappen pitted under the yellow flag), led to Perez’s win, and another seven points being trimmed from Verstappen’s lead.    

In addition, the race took place on the Baku City Circuit, and Perez is renowned as a master of street circuits. 

The point is, the F1 season is long, and more often than not, the stars won’t align for Perez. And nothing motivates Verstappen more than losing, so expect a determined Max to come away from Miami with a decisive win.

All that being said, luck was certainly the reason Perez took the lead, but maintaining that lead, and making it look easy, was all skill. Perez’s triumph was not solely the result of the difference between pitting under the safety car and pitting under a yellow flag. That scenario would not have played out as it did had Perez not passed Charles Leclerc soon after Verstappen cleared Leclerc. The fact that Perez was so close to Verstappen when Nyck de Vries’ spin resulted in the yellow flag may have decided the race. Because there was little gap separating the two Red Bull drivers, Red Bull couldn’t double-stack a pit stop. So, Perez’s skill put him in position to be the beneficiary of such good luck.