In Formula 1, your teammate might sometimes become your worst enemy because they are the ones who evaluate your skills as a driver. And in the last 6 seasons, no one has beat Max Verstappen in the same car. The Dutchman has destroyed every single driver who has gone up against him. This has led to speculations that Red Bull builds its cars around Verstappen and the other drivers struggle to adapt to his driving style.

The latest comment on Red Bull’s preferential treatment comes from the father of Max Verstappen’s current teammate, Sergio Perez. Antonio Perez believes that his son is just as good as the reigning world champion, but he has been struggling because the team has forced him to adapt to a car that is clearly built around Max.

The difference in points between the two Red Bull drivers in 2023 was the largest gap ever recorded between two teammates. After starting the season strongly with 2 wins each, it looked like Checo would give a tough championship battle to Verstappen. However, the Mexican wasn’t able to win a single race for the rest of the season and Verstappen ended up scoring more than double the points tally of Checo.

The 2024 season seems to be a different story though. So far, Sergio Perez has finished on the podium in 4 out of the 5 races and seems to be more comfortable with the RB20 than he looked with the RB19. According to his father, this is the result of Checo gradually learning how to drive a car that’s built for Max. “I think what Checo is doing is learning to drive the car in the style of Max [Verstappen],” said Antonio in an interview with Aztec Deportes as quoted by F1 Maximaal.

“Checo previously tried to merge the car and his own style, but now he is taking more from Max. He’s working on that learning curve. The construction of the car revolves around that style (from Verstappen, ed.), so he has to be able to deal with that to feel comfortable and compete for top places. He’s getting closer every day and I think he’s still fighting for the championship,” Antonio added. [Translated by Google]

But is it true that Red Bull builds its cars around Verstappen? It might be helpful to know what his previous teammates have to say about that.

Does Alex Albon think the Red Bulls are built around Max Verstappen?

No, he doesn’t. Alex Albon teamed up with Verstappen for the second half of the 2019 season and the complete 2020 season. And he doesn’t think they design the cars with Max in mind. What he does think, though, is that it is very difficult to match Verstappen because he is just that good.

Albon recently made his appearance on the High Performance Podcast where he spoke about this myth. “The first thing is a lot of people say that car is built around him. Truthfully… the car is what it is,” said Albon. However, he also explained how Verstappen has the ability to control the car like no one else.

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“He has quite a unique driving style actually. It’s not that easy to get along with,” he added. “My driving style is a bit more on the smooth side, but I like a car that has a good front end, so quite sharp, [and] quite direct. Max does too, but his level of sharp and direct is kind of another… it’s a whole different level… It becomes so sharp that it makes you a little bit tense and it just starts to snowball.”

Will Sergio Perez fade away in 2024 just like he did last season? Or will he be able to keep the points gap in check? What are your thoughts on the matter?