F1 Sergio Perez, because Max Verstappen’s standard bearer was decisive in the World Championship

He was undoubtedly one of the symbolic radio teams of the Abu Dhabi F1 grand finale: “Oh, Checo is a legend!”, Max Verstappen rejoiced with the Red Bull wall after witnessing almost incredulous the sacrifice of his teammate who, with worn soft tires, he widened his shoulders to defend himself from Lewis Hamilton’s attacks, making him lose all the accumulated advantage. A crucial moment in Yas Marina’s chess match, which the 2021 World Champion also wanted to underline the day after entering racing history: “Perez did something crazy”, explained Max in an exclusive interview with Gazzetta. But how much did the Mexican’s behavior affect the 24-year-old Dutchman’s title victory?

f1 defense at yas marina

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At first glance, the truly decisive moment for the assignment of the most daring World Championship ever could appear that of the entrance of the Safety Car, sent to the track during lap 53 of the 58 scheduled following the accident of Nicholas Latifi. If it is true that, without the neutralization of the gaps at the end, the game would never have reopened, it is equally true that Verstappen’s triumph rests its foundations on the stoic – very hard but correct – defense of Perez on the twentieth lap, which allowed Max to recover 7 seconds in less than two passes. Indeed, the Dutchman’s strategy worked mainly thanks to the fact that Hamilton never had the gap for a pit stop … for free.

hamilton and the safety car window

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In fact, Lewis would have only needed 14 seconds of margin to stop under the Safety Car regime, mount a new set of tires and get back on track in front of his rival, who at that point would have (at least) had more difficulty in sinking an attack. on the last lap. The advantage of the Englishman, however, was “only” 11 seconds, enough to drive with a fair amount of serenity in view of the last kilometers, but not enough to hold the position on Red Bull number 33 in the event of a pit stop. Considering the time lost behind Perez, a calculation of elementary arithmetic is enough to realize how crucial Checo’s role was for his teammate’s victory.

perez, abu dhabi as 2021

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The role played in Yas Marina is none other than the emblem of the entire 2021 of the former Force India: almost always behind his companion, inconspicuous, discontinuous in performance and often in difficulty in finding confidence behind the wheel of Red Bull, but present in the really important moments. The best friend we should all have by our side. Like in Baku when, with that pole position at the restart from the red flag (caused by Verstappen’s rear tire burst) Checo confused Hamilton, long in turn 1 for messing with the buttons on the steering wheel. Or like when, thanks to the exceptional defense in the wet in Istanbul, he slowed down Lewis’s comeback – then fifth – or, by pressing in the final laps of the Mexican GP, ​​he forced his rival to defend himself rather than think of a possible alternative strategy to attack Max.

mercedes-red bull, seconds out

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On the other hand, that the squires would have been decisive, in a fight for the title so close to the thread of details and episodes, we kept telling ourselves since the beginning of the season. Valtteri Bottas is also well aware of this, whose contribution was equal and opposite to that of Perez: much faster in qualifying, certainly more constant and more comfortable with the car, almost always close to the two pretenders to the throne, but noisily absent when Lewis needed his help. In Sochi, despite the fresh engine, the Finn offered no resistance to Verstappen’s attacks, with his sleep off to Mexico City which risks becoming the perfect photograph of five years at the wheel of the Mercedes. And who knows whether Lewis, in his hermitage of the post Yas Marina, is not really reflecting on how things could have gone if his friend Valtteri, rather than being bottled in the middle of the group, had found himself at least ten seconds from Verstappen, preventing him from stopping in the pits without losing positions …