Why Perez is so good in Baku and could still save his 2025 seat

There are many myths about Sergio Perez, the driver. In his early Formula 1 career, there were patterns in Perez's results that seemed to appeal to those who love the championship's statistics, underpinned by identifiable driving traits and he almost seemed happy to accept this, supporting those myths with his future racing efforts. But within the last year and a half, an admittedly difficult spell in Perez's career, many of them became misconceptions.

We've had 'Perez, the Tyre Whisperer', one of his earlier titles. This largely entered the F1 vernacular through the early part of his F1 career, as his extraordinarily tyre-kind Sauber C31 appeared to be well-equipped to handle the camembert-like Pirelli tyres employed in the early 2010s. This moniker persisted through the Force India years, when his occasional podium ventures often seemed to coincide with wildcard strategies that required tyre saving - and Perez often seemed to make them work.

PLUS: Azerbaijan Grand Prix Driver Ratings 2024

But versus Max Verstappen, Perez has often looked a little more heavy-handed when it comes to tyre stints, removing some of that latitude Red Bull has with strategy. That's been magnified by the 18-inch tyres used in contemporary F1; Perez was good at minimising the slip of the old 13-inch constructions, but the stiffer sidewall changes the complexion completely. That's one myth we can dispel.

The other is "Perez, the Street Specialist". This was largely bestowed upon him through 2022 and the start of 2023; the Mexican won at Monaco and Singapore in 2022, and opened 2023 with victories at Jeddah and Azerbaijan. In total 83% of his wins have come on street circuits, suggesting he has a special predilection for city streets and manhole covers, rather than smooth asphalt and neatly curated grass.

But the rest of 2023 rather disproved that; Monaco was abject that year, Singapore was hurt by Red Bull's set-up issues, and the 2024 Monaco and Canada races were also both disastrous. We can tick that one off too, in that case.

But "Perez, the Master of Baku"? That's still true; even in a 2024 season that has probably been one of Perez's most bruising during his lengthy F1 stint, the Azerbaijani capital offered his season a ray of light.

Perez returned to form at Baku, a circuit where he is statistically the most successful driver

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

Before this season, he'd only failed to finish on the podium twice: in 2017 and 2019. And, in a season where he had hitherto failed to outqualify Verstappen while struggling with the worsening balance of the RB20, Perez firmly put his heralded team-mate in the shade and stuck his car fourth on the grid.

More impressive was Perez's turn of speed in the race. He was a legitimate contender for victory and, had things played out differently with Norris backing him up post-pitstop, Perez's presence at the front of the pack was not an unlikely occurrence.

He kept the battle between Oscar Piastri and Charles Leclerc at arm's length, and looked good value for a second-place finish when Leclerc's hard tyres had faded - had the clash with Carlos Sainz not wiped out any chance of a decent points haul.

Just to segue briefly onto their crash: calling it a racing incident was the right solution. Sainz was right in that he didn't make any sudden manoeuvres, and nor did Perez. Ultimately, they played a high-speed game of chicken - one that they both lost.

"If he had a 24-race championship in Azerbaijan he would be pretty tough to beat" 
Christian Horner

What makes Perez such a formidable opponent in Baku? Comparing his fastest qualifying lap relative to Verstappen, Perez has two traits that yield more performance: one: he's later on the brakes in the 90-degree corners but maintains enough traction to keep hold of the time advantage he makes up, and two: he carries much more speed through the castle section.

It helps that Red Bull encountered a set-up with Perez's car that imbued him with the requisite level of confidence to attack the Azerbaijani streets. For a driver, getting the front end where they need it around Baku helps to build that; the last thing a driver needs is a disconnected front end on a course where the walls are so close to the apex. But it's got to be balanced with the rear as well; it just so happens that this produces a neutral steering characteristic that Perez likes.

"He has always been magic around here," Christian Horner had mused pre-weekend, offering a novel suggestion to help Perez on a path towards a title. "If he had a 24-race championship in Azerbaijan he would be pretty tough to beat. It is important to carry that momentum into the race.”

Perez won under the lights in Singapore two years ago and will hope to carry momentum over from Baku

Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images

That's not the first time Horner has alluded to Perez's prolificness at Baku. Amid the reasoning that Red Bull provided in its decision to keep Perez on for the rest of 2024, Horner noted that a series of circuits were coming up post-summer that Perez had historically been good at - Baku being one of them. Singapore is another, and Perez really must follow up his Azerbaijan performance with a strong run at the Marina Bay venue next weekend.

Let's not forget, his drive for 2025 is on the line; he may have a contract, but if there was a clause that would have let Red Bull walk away from him during the summer, there's certainly one for '25 in there.

After Singapore, RB is set to announce the identity of its second driver. Indications are that this will be Liam Lawson, but it nonetheless puts residual pressure on Perez to put the second Red Bull seat beyond doubt and ward off the likes of Lawson, Yuki Tsunoda, Daniel Ricciardo, et al.

Red Bull has its own duty of care to a certain degree, in that it needs to provide Perez with a car that isn't as difficult to work with around the Singaporean streets as seen last year. Maintaining a similar balance to Baku, albeit without the need for aero efficiency, will be a good baseline to tackle the plethora of short-apex 90-degree corners. Perez asserts that this should be the case next time out.

"I think in terms of pace, yes, [Baku has] been a strong one," he said. "I do expect Singapore as well - probably the ride can be a little bit trickier there, but there should be a good weekend.

"But it's definitely encouragement. I'm aware that there's still a lot of work to do, because when you see with Max, how much he struggled on the weekend, I think he probably was a touch or two out of the set-up, and then it's a huge difference in terms of weekend [outcome]. It keeps showing that the car is too sensitive, so we've got some work to do. I think we've done a good step, but we need another two steps like this."

And if Perez can perform in Singapore as he has in Baku, then the last shreds of disseminating rumour over his future at the team may start to evaporate - for 2025, at least.

Can Perez cement his position at Red Bull and expel rumours over his future?

Photo by: Andrew Ferraro / Motorsport Images