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

OPINION: As the Azerbaijan Grand Prix neared its conclusion, Sergio Perez was just laps from scoring his first podium finish since China and drawing a line under his difficult run of form. Crashing out with Carlos Sainz curtailed what had been a stellar weekend that continues his Baku triumphs and could be valuable to his future prospects

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.

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Author Jake Boxall-Legge

Jake Boxall-Legge Autosport’s Technical Editor. Having studied Automotive Engineering with Motorsport at the University of Hertfordshire, West Country-born Jake's original ambition was to design racing cars. During a year between studies in which he accidentally rekindled a love of writing, he took up a Master's in Motorsport Engineering at Oxford Brookes. Halfway through his master's year, he was offered a place on the Autosport Academy, conducting occasional freelance duties before becoming the press officer for Formula 2 and GP3 in 2018. Autosport offered him a return to the fold later that year to serve as its Technical Editor. His voice appears on a number of videos and podcasts, and can often be found writing about terrible Formula 1 cars in excruciating detail. In his spare time, Jake enjoys baking and blames his failure to make it past the Great British Bake-Off interviews on his tenuous grasp on choux pastry. His dream is to open a brunch cafe - and his willingness to make outrageous puns in inappropriate situations has earned him the contempt of his colleagues.