The Limited Times

Now you can see non-English news...

Verstappen wins at the Montmeló Spanish Grand Prix thanks to Checo Pérez

2022-05-22T15:52:27.922Z


The Mexican is a bargain for Red Bull, Leclerc leaves when he was leading, Sainz finishes fourth and Alonso, ninth


Checo Pérez is a real bargain for Red Bull, who had been crushing the drivers he placed alongside Max Verstappen for years, and who has found in the Mexican the perfect complement to the Dutchman, the unequivocal cornerstone of his project.

No teammate could even come close to the performance offered by Verstappen, a

killer

insatiable behind the wheel accustomed to embarrassing his neighbors.

However, Pérez is not only able to accompany him and turn almost at his rhythm, both on Saturdays (timed) and on Sundays.

The one from Jalisco is a luxury squire, a runner capable of assuming command when his leader is in trouble, or of giving him a cable when the current champion needs it.

That became clear last year, in that last apocalyptic Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, in which Pérez built a wall against Lewis Hamilton so that Verstappen approached the Briton, in which it was the prelude to one of the most controversial World Cup finals always.

This Sunday, in a Montmeló circuit to bursting (123,000 spectators), the one from Guadalajara did not shake his pulse when he had to lead the offensive to go on to lead the race, and he barely put

But

when, over the radio, they asked him to let his colleague pass.

Red Bull's one-two finish at the

Circuit

will undoubtedly work in Checo's favor when the time comes to sit down and talk about his renewal, a process that can be taken almost for granted if we take into account what alternatives are on the market.

Red Bull does not take prisoners, much less when it acts as a pursuer.

In a season start marked by the great moment of Ferrari, the

Scuderia

left Barcelona with a shiver, as a result of the abandonment of Charles Leclerc (lap 27), when the Monegasque was walking at the head of the peloton.

Ferrari's first breakdown so far this year was the final finishing touch to a fateful day for the Maranello crew, who saw Carlos Sainz get stuck at the start, before going off the track shortly after.

The man from Madrid finished fourth, while Fernando Alonso finished ninth.

No one disputes Verstappen's role at Red Bull.

That dynamic was established in the red buffalo company since they recruited him and made him debut, in 2015, at Toro Rosso and with Sainz as a partner.

Since then, the kid from Hasselt has been gaining popularity and has done so at full speed, until he became the reference on the grill.

Last year he held Hamilton's pulse and ended up beating him;

and this season he already acts as ringleader.

And all this with Sundays like the last one, in which he had to swim against the current from Saturday due to problems with the mobile rear wing (DRS).

The waist of the Red Bull strategists, who called him to the workshop to overtake Russell there (lap 29), and Pérez's obedience when they asked him to let him pass – "it seems unfair to me, but I will do it", he said -,

They made it possible for Verstappen to achieve his fourth win in six races, and also to be placed at the top of the points table.

Russell's third position, very solvent throughout the weekend, and Hamilton's comeback – he went from last place to fifth – lead to the intuition that Mercedes is beginning to offer a version minimally similar to what is expected of the Arrows silver.

"I'm happy for the team, but we have to talk later," Pérez said on the radio as soon as he crossed the finish line.

“Thanks to Checo, he is a fantastic teammate”, complimented the winner of a test that historically was never one of the funniest on the calendar, but on this occasion it led to delirium to anyone brave enough to approach Montmeló, under a sun that fell sharply throughout the day.

You can follow EL PAÍS Deportes on

Facebook

and

Twitter

, or sign up here to receive

our weekly newsletter

.

Source: elparis

All sports articles on 2022-05-22

You may like

News/Politics 2024-03-09T22:27:43.780Z

Trends 24h

Latest

© Communities 2019 - Privacy

The information on this site is from external sources that are not under our control.
The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.