Sergio Perez left no doubt as to how talented a driver he thinks Max Verstappen is, calling his Red Bull teammate one of the best, if not the best, F1 driver of all-time.
The Mexican, now in his second season with the Milton Keynes outfit, currently sits 46 points adrift of the Dutchman in the 2022 Drivers’ Championship following nine races.
Perez hasn’t backed down from a fight since joining Red Bull, keeping pace with Verstappen while others, like Pierre Gasly and Alex Albon, have struggled in the past. Nevertheless, the Mexican believes Verstappen‘s ability puts him in a class of his own.
“Max is very good, a very complete driver,” Perez told Fox Sports.
“He’s without a doubt one of the best in F1 history, if not the best, for everything, his [racing] education and because he has things that other F1 drivers do not have.
“The special thing about Max is the ease of going to the limit. Max goes to the limit from the first lap, every change he makes to the car is important and it’s not that he changes his conditioning style, he always goes to the limit.
“The difference is always a corner, it is a level that demands a lot as a driver.”
Verstappen passes Clark and Lauda
Verstappen currently holds a 46 point lead over Perez in the standings, with Ferrari‘s Charles Leclerc a further three points adrift.
The Dutchman’s victory in Montreal was the 26th of his career, moving him past Jim Clark and Niki Lauda in the all-time list.
However, Clark has a higher winning percentage compared to Verstappen, winning 34 percent of the races he competed in compared to Verstappen‘s 17 percent.
