Can we say this is the Max Verstappen dominance era? Yes, it may very well be. Since 2022, the two-time reigning world champion has won 18 races and led the driver’s standings for 21 consecutive races. With his brilliant performance last year, he’s even set a record of scoring the most points in one season at 454. Looking at the pace at which he’s going this season, it’s plausible that he’ll break his own records. But it seems like the Red Bull driver isn’t happy with his car. Despite his dominance on the track, the Dutch driver has highlighted an issue with the car. 

It’s no secret that this generation’s cars are difficult to follow. Thanks to 2022 technical regulations, many teams got their car concept wrong, and are playing catch-up since then. Although the Red Bull was still at the upper end of what such a car could achieve, it was not at all like the cars that Verstappen would be brilliant in. However, Verstappen dealt with the car, fought for the title, and won it as well – the reason why he’s known as a great improviser! Coming into this season, Red Bull worked on their initial flaws, and it is much faster than the rest. But their main driver still thinks it can be improved. 

While highlighting the disadvantages of this generation of cars, Verstappen told Motorsport.com, “You have to use these cars very stiff indeed and that takes away some of the magic, especially on street circuits. With the previous generation of cars you could sometimes hit a curb here and there on street circuits, but that is not easy with these stiff cars. That makes things more difficult in Baku and Singapore, for example.”

“Light Years Ahead of the Rest”: Red Bull Veteran Hypes Up Max Verstappen’s Dominance While Giving His Peers a “Supernatural” Task

However, his teammate Sergio Perez had been so good on street tracks despite having the same machinery. 

“If I’m able to do that in Baku I can do that anywhere”: Sergio Perez 

The numbers don’t lie. All of Perez’s Grand Prix wins for Red Bull have come on street tracks. In fact, his two consecutive victories in the 2023 season were in Saudi Arabia and Azerbaijan – again street tracks! And by winning the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, the Mexican driver also became the first driver to win the Baku race twice. But how is he so good on the streets?

Perez thinks that his confidence in finding the limit of a car and dealing with the extra pressure that comes from racing so close to walls is key to explaining why he is so good on street tracks. He said, “I think in the street circuits you have to be very strong in the race, and very strong with the pressure. You have to be able to handle the pressure because you’re not able to make mistakes. If you do a small mistake, in a normal circuit, you can get away with it.But in the streets, you cannot get away with those mistakes. And I probably have more confidence than others come race day.”

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But Perez believes that the progress he has made in unlocking performance from his Red Bull will work just as well in normal circuits. So he added: “At the end of the day, the way I won in Baku on pure pace, it doesn’t matter if it’s a street circuit or a permanent circuit. If I’m able to do that in Baku I can do that anywhere.”

However, Verstappen is a better performer than Perez on traditional circuits. So, it’s yet to be seen if he’s a real threat to Verstappen as a title contender.  

Watch this story: How is Sergio Perez So Good at Street Tracks in F1?

Do you think Perez can win races on traditional circuits and challenge Verstappen in the 2023 season?