Red Bull team advisor Dr Helmut Marko has praised Sergio Perez following his performance at the Australian Grand Prix.
Perez ended the race in second place, securing his first podium finish of the 2022 campaign.
The Mexican driver started the grand prix from third, behind team-mate Max Verstappen, but lost out to Lewis Hamilton at the start.
He then re-passed Hamilton with a move on the run to Turn 11, while he was also forced to overtake George Russell after losing out during a Safety Car period later in the race.
Perez inherited second place when team-mate Max Verstappen retired, but Marko commended Perez’s performance, stating he was on par with his Dutch team-mate at the event.
“Checo drove a great race and was on a par with Max,” Marko told Motorsport-Total.com.
“He did lose a position at the start, but that was a sensational start by Hamilton. That’s exactly what we expect from him [Perez]. And today we are glad that Checo was able to at least finish second.”
Red Bull has struggled to fit a competitive team-mate alongside Verstappen since the start of the 2019 season, with Perez succeeding Pierre Gasly and Alexander Albon at the team.
Last time out in Jeddah, Perez scored pole position for the energy drink-backed squad and looked to be on course for victory before a poorly timed Safety Car dropped him back several spots.
Red Bull Team principal Christian Horner also applauded Perez for the job he did in Melbourne last weekend.
“Checo drove an exceptional race,” he said. “He got unlucky once again with the Safety Car but a stunning pass on Lewis into the high speed chicane.
“Then he had to re-pass Fernando [Alonso] and George to get back into that podium position. So a great recovery from him.”
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