Jenson Button, Sergio Perez former teammate at McLaren and former F1 world champion, thinks the Mexican is the first driver at Red Bull to challenge Max Verstappen since Daniel Ricciardo.
In an interview with Sky Sports F1 in Miami, Jenson Button spoke about his former teammate’s chances in taking down the current F1 champion, Max Verstappen. According to him, the Miami Grand Prix is the best chance for the Mexican to have a shot at his Red Bull teammate.
📰: Jenson Button says if Sergio Perez wins the Miami Grand Prix, he’d establish himself as a true contender for the 2023 title. Perez’s 2nd win in Baku this season has reduced the deficit to Verstappen to just 6 points. Button claims Perez needs consistent performance to… pic.twitter.com/O51Ql4cFck
— F1 Naija 🇳🇬 (@f1_naija) May 3, 2023
“He showed so much confidence in the last race. He won the sprint race and he’s like, ‘We’re going to do the same tomorrow.’ It was just fantastic to see that confidence,” Button said to Sky Sports F1.
He added, “Max hasn’t really had a challenger, I wouldn’t say, since Daniel Ricciardo. So for him now to have competition, people even talk about it, it’s frustrating but it’s also great that we have that challenge for Max Verstappen. It makes this season a lot more exciting for us.”
Sergio Perez and Jenson Button were partners at McLaren
As members of the McLaren Formula One team in 2013, Jenson Button and Sergio Perez raced alongside one another. Button, the British driver, was a seasoned veteran and a former World Champion, while Perez was a newcomer.
A number of significant things came out of their time working together at McLaren. Button was the more seasoned of the two drivers, having competed in Formula One since 2000 while Perez didn’t make his debut until 2011. In addition, Button had a reputation for being a steady and reliable driver, while Perez was known to take more risks.
There were also some disagreements between the two drivers throughout the season. As a result of his aggressive driving style, Perez often found himself in dangerous situations and made contact with other drivers on the track, which was not always appreciated by Button. There were also differences of opinion on how the car should be prepared for races.
Nevertheless, Jenson Button is backing his former teammate to be the one to dethrone the seemingly unstoppable Max Verstappen, and who knows? He could be right!
