How Perez has been better for Red Bull in 2022

OPINION: One week on from getting a ruthless Red Bull team orders call at Barcelona, Sergio Perez delivered the team’s sixth Monaco Grand Prix victory and earned a two-year contract extension. This success backs up discernible improvements the team has noticed in driver who is now his country’s most successful Formula 1 racer

Author Alex Kalinauckas

Updated May 31, 2022, 3:27 PM

"It’s a massive day for myself, for my country."

What a difference a week made for Sergio Perez. From a team orders row in Spain and questions about his chances of ever getting a fair crack at what is, understandably, perceived to be Max Verstappen’s Red Bull squad, to the top step of the podium at the Monaco Grand Prix and with a fresh contract extension. In the process, he became Mexico’s most successful Formula 1 driver – now leads Pedro Rodriguez with three world championship F1 race victories to two.

There was a certain ambivalence towards what Red Bull did to Perez at Barcelona. Although it risked wrecking his morale by twice denying him in favour of Verstappen and asking him to move aside for the Dutchman after the world champion’s error in the wind, Red Bull’s choices had a cold, hard logic.

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Author Alex Kalinauckas

Alex Kalinauckas is Autosport's Grand Prix Editor, covering every Formula 1 race since the start of 2020. After completing a master's degree in journalism at Goldsmiths College University of London in 2014, he worked for a range of motorsport and technology publications while covering national racing as an Autosport freelancer.

A lifelong motorsport fan - no one in his family can explain quite how or why such a development first occurred - Alex joined the Autosport staff in April 2017 as the magazine’s Assistant Editor covering Formula 2 and GP3, before being made Formula E correspondent and Autosport.com’s Plus Editor in March 2018. He lives in north-east London and is constantly frustrated by the Central Line.