It is impossible to predict which direction Sergio Pérez's season will go, but the chance to fight to be champion presents itself now. Maybe never again
The Formula One World Championship in the 2022 season, for now, is just a fragment. There have been seven of the 22 races on the calendar, so more than 2/3 are still to come. And it is impossible to predict or imagine exactly what is going to happen from now on, but it is the duty of those who analyze to capture the divof the moment. This divindicates that Sergio Pérez leaves the Monaco GP in contention for the Formula 1 title. It is a rare possibility and one that promises no replay.
Pérez has been in F1 since the 2011 season and has been through a lot. An unexpected sensation at Sauber, a meteoric failure at McLaren, and a mid-team force at Force India, he has always been good at taking advantage of the opportunities for points and podiums that have come his way, but it took almost a decade before his first chance to win came at the end of 2020. So, almost by force of fate, he stumbled on the chance of a big team at a peak moment.
If there is anyone in Formula One who has learned to value the opportunities that come along and with them take time and may not come back, it is Pérez. Thus, the 2022 season is a unicorn and it is certain that the driver knows it. Since the beginning of the year, Red Bull has said that the Mexican has a more natural feel for the new cars in the category than Max Verstappen. Of course Verstappen has adjusted and won several races, because he is an immeasurable talent. He is the best driver of the season so far, and, no, this analysis is not going to try to convince the reader that somehow Pérez is or will ever be as good as his teammate.
The issue here is different, quite different. After the first five races of the championship, F1 has reached the European leg and the big updates that it carries. Nobody scored more points than Czech in these two races, after the second place in Spain and the victory in Monaco. Yes, with two huge misfortunes by Charles Leclerc, but that is another matter. Until proven otherwise, Red Bull is the force to beat in 2022, even over Ferrari.
With that in mind, Pérez has even been technically superior to Verstappen in the last two races - two that will say more to the championship than the opening five. Verstappen won in Barcelona without having to duel for the lead thanks to an order from Red Bull. Yes, Pérez's victory was not guaranteed, because the Dutchman had newer tires and would come on the attack, but we were all deprived of this first duel between the two. The level of both was similar. Then, in Monaco, the Czech was on top throughout the weekend.
There is only 15 points difference between Verstappen and Pérez, first and third in the Constructors' World Championship - with Leclerc there in the middle, nine behind the Dutchman and six ahead of the Mexican. If months ago, Pérez said it was a "disrespect to his own career" to accept being made second driver, he now has the opportunity to stamp it out.
"I couldn't be in Formula 1 just to be, and to be the second driver would be something disrespectful to my career," Pérez said in an interview with Fox Sports from Mexico. "I'm in F1 because I know I can win and be champion. I don't need to prove anything, I need to prove myself. I don't want to win races, my focus is to win the championship," he stressed.
"If they [Red Bull] asked to let Max [Verstappen] win the race when I could win the championship, we would have problems. But I don't see that happening now. The team has been open in telling us that they want both of us to be at the front. Nothing would be better than to fight for the championship with Max, because that would mean that Red Bull holds the power," he explained.
Pérez has the real ability to keep a title challenge alight long enough to avoid getting cornered for Red Bull. Like last year when Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton fired up, Czech has never had a problem defending his teammate in circumstantial situations and certainly won't have in new opportunities, but it's something he doesn't want to live to do, of course. Barcelona turned on a yellow light: Red Bull has the justification of tire strategy, but everyone understood what happened there.
Therefore, Pérez's immediate response is crucial, as is the rest of the first half of the championship. Coming into the summer break as an active part of the fray is necessary to be taken even seriously as a player now and for the future.
"He is in the championship as much as Max," Red Bull boss Christian Horner assured. "The difference between the two is 15 points or more, and that's nothing. There is a long way to go in this championship and we can see that the Ferrari car is very fast," he added.
For now, Pérez will not be denied. Red Bull would have no way to justify disfavoring the Mexican, and I can't even imagine that it is in the team's interest to scout the driver with whom it has just renewed its contract for two more seasons. Pérez is no longer a stopgap: he is now an important asset that should be treated as such.
That is why it is necessary to complete the progressive growth he has been having since the second half of last year, when he started to get along with Red Bull. After 1/3 of Formula 1 and with everything that has already happened, with new cars - with which he got along very well - and while his team has the best possible equipment, he sees circumstances aligning themselves in a strangely favorable way.
How many drivers have actually fought for the title since the Hybrid Era began in 2014? That's eight seasons, a considerable period. Hamilton and Nico Rosberg, it is possible to say Sebastian Vettel and, there, Verstappen. The answer is this: four. Real fight, challenge to the finish. No other has come close to that until 2021. Perez gets a chance that took 12 years to appear and, let's be honest, may never appear again. Expecting the stars to align and Pérez to follow Verstappen closely for so long in another year is being optimistic. It may happen, but one can easily imagine that all these stars will never align again.
It is now or never. The horse is passing saddled, and Pérez needs to learn to ride. Challenging his teammate and Ferrari for the title would be the achievement of his career - even if he ends up getting the worst of it.