Motorsport Week
  • Formula 1
    • 2025 Formula 1 Calendar
    • 2025 Formula 1 Standings
  • Formula E
    • 2025 Formula E Calendar
    • 2025 Formula E Standings
  • IndyCar
    • 2025 IndyCar Calendar
    • 2025 IndyCar Standings
  • WRC
    • 2025 WRC Standings
    • 2025 WRC Calendar
  • MotoGP
    • 2025 MotoGP Calendar
    • 2025 MotoGP Standings
    • Moto2
    • Moto3
  • WEC
    • 2025 WEC Calendar
  • IMSA
    • 2025 IMSA Calendar
  • World SBK
  • More
    • Formula 2
    • Formula 3
    • F1 Academy
    • Moto2
    • Moto3
    • World Superbikes
    • Technical Insight
    • Galleries
    • About/Contact
    • Privacy Policy
No Result
View All Result
  • Formula 1
    • 2025 Formula 1 Calendar
    • 2025 Formula 1 Standings
  • Formula E
    • 2025 Formula E Calendar
    • 2025 Formula E Standings
  • IndyCar
    • 2025 IndyCar Calendar
    • 2025 IndyCar Standings
  • WRC
    • 2025 WRC Standings
    • 2025 WRC Calendar
  • MotoGP
    • 2025 MotoGP Calendar
    • 2025 MotoGP Standings
    • Moto2
    • Moto3
  • WEC
    • 2025 WEC Calendar
  • IMSA
    • 2025 IMSA Calendar
  • World SBK
  • More
    • Formula 2
    • Formula 3
    • F1 Academy
    • Moto2
    • Moto3
    • World Superbikes
    • Technical Insight
    • Galleries
    • About/Contact
    • Privacy Policy
No Result
View All Result
Motorsport Week
Home Single Seater Formula 1

Hill: Perez won’t be beaten by Verstappen ‘without a fight’

by Fergal Walsh
2 years ago
A A
0
Hill: Perez won’t be beaten by Verstappen ‘without a fight’
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

1996 Formula 1 World Champion Damon Hill has backed Sergio Perez to deliver Max Verstappen a heightened challenge during the 2023 season.

Verstappen won the opening round of the 2023 season, held in Bahrain, in dominating fashion while Perez cruised to victory last time out in Saudi Arabia.

Verstappen’s race weekend in Jeddah was hampered by a drive shaft failure during qualifying that forced him to line up at toward the back of the field.

The Dutchman stated after the event that he was sure he would’ve won the grand prix had he had an uninterrupted weekend.

RelatedPosts

Max Verstappen has dismissed doubts regarding Red Bull's 2026 prospects

Max Verstappen denies doubt over 2026 Red Bull F1 prospects behind Mercedes talks 

11 hours ago
Charles Leclerc (MON) Ferrari SF-25. 06.07.2025. Formula 1 World Championship, Rd 12, British Grand Prix, Silverstone, England, Race Da

Ferrari to test long-awaited F1 upgrade ahead of Belgian GP

12 hours ago

2023 marks the third year that Verstappen and Perez have been partnered at Red Bull, and in that time, Verstappen has largely held the upper hand.

But Hill says that he expects Perez to mount a stronger challenge this year.

“Checo [Perez] knows what he’s up against, but he’s not going to go down without a fight,” Hill told Motorsport.com. “It could be quite interesting.

“I think the problem that you have is that Max is a bit of a force of nature, and it’s how much pressure he can put on the team to make sure his championship aspirations are not interfered with by Checo.

“From the point of view of the sport, I think that they need to let Checo have every opportunity to fight with a level playing field within that team. 

“Because I know the pressure from the Verstappens, his dad as well, on Red Bull will be intense.

“He’ll be pulling out the card of saying, ‘I’m your future. The whole opportunity is built around me’ and he’ll be leveraging them.”

Perez is the fourth driver to team up with Verstappen since the latter joined the Milton Keynes-based squad in 2016.

Verstappen has often been the more superior driver at the team throughout the last several years.

Hill believes that the environment at Red Bull is structured in a way that is unwelcoming to drivers that struggle for performance.

“We’ve seen young guys go there and find themselves without friends and they can be intimidated, and they’ve had to go elsewhere, like Gasly and Albon,” Hill said.

“You could even say Mark Webber and Daniel Ricciardo have experienced that. It’s a tough environment, Red Bull. 

“They don’t put their arm around you and go, ‘we’ll look after you, don’t worry’.

“Checo has got people in his corner and we’ll see how it plays out.

“Whatever happens, the Verstappens won’t be taking it lying down. You saw after Saudi Arabia that Max was… I would say sulking is not too strong a word. He looked very unhappy about the way things went. They don’t like coming second.”

Tags: F1Max VerstappenRedBullSergio Perez
Share199Tweet124Share

Related Posts

Max Verstappen has dismissed doubts regarding Red Bull's 2026 prospects
Formula 1

Max Verstappen denies doubt over 2026 Red Bull F1 prospects behind Mercedes talks 

11 hours ago
Charles Leclerc (MON) Ferrari SF-25. 06.07.2025. Formula 1 World Championship, Rd 12, British Grand Prix, Silverstone, England, Race Da
Formula 1

Ferrari to test long-awaited F1 upgrade ahead of Belgian GP

12 hours ago
Mohammed Bin Sulayem (UAE) FIA President. 18.05.2025. Formula 1 World Championship, Rd 7, Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, Imola, Italy, Race Day
Formula 1

FIA president confident F1 return to V8 engines ‘is happening’

13 hours ago
Load More

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Upcoming Races

#EventDate
13Belgian GP25-27 July
14Hungarian GP01-03 August
15Dutch GP29-31 August
16Italian GP05-07 September
17Azerbaijan GP19-21 September

Click here for the full 2025 F1 calendar

Drivers’  Standings

#DriverPts
Oscar Piastri234
Lando Norris226
Max Verstappen165
George Russell147
Charles Leclerc120
Lewis Hamilton103
Andrea Kimi Antonelli63
Alexander Albon44
Nico Hulkenberg37
Isack Hadjar28

Click here for full Drivers’ Standings

Latest Articles

Max Verstappen has dismissed doubts regarding Red Bull's 2026 prospects
Formula 1

Max Verstappen denies doubt over 2026 Red Bull F1 prospects behind Mercedes talks 

July 15, 2025
Charles Leclerc (MON) Ferrari SF-25. 06.07.2025. Formula 1 World Championship, Rd 12, British Grand Prix, Silverstone, England, Race Da
Formula 1

Ferrari to test long-awaited F1 upgrade ahead of Belgian GP

July 15, 2025
Mohammed Bin Sulayem (UAE) FIA President. 18.05.2025. Formula 1 World Championship, Rd 7, Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, Imola, Italy, Race Day
Formula 1

FIA president confident F1 return to V8 engines ‘is happening’

July 15, 2025

Follow Motorsport Week

Join our daily motorsport newsletter

* indicates required

Motorsport Week

© 2024 Motorsport Media Services Ltd

Other Links

  • About & Contact
  • Privacy Policy
  • Motorsport Monday

Follow Us

No Result
View All Result
  • Login
  • Sign Up
  • Home
  • Formula 1
    • Latest News
    • 2025 F1 Calendar
    • 2025 F1 Championship Standings
  • Formula E
    • Latest News
    • 2025 FE Calendar
    • 2025 FE Championship Standings
  • MotoGP
    • Latest News
    • 2025 MotoGP Calendar
    • 2025 MotoGP Standings
    • Moto2
    • Moto3
    • World Superbikes
  • WRC
    • Latest News
    • 2025 WRC Calendar
    • 2025 WRC Standings
  • IndyCar
    • Latest News
    • 2025 IndyCar Calendar
    • 2025 IndyCar Standings
  • WEC
    • Latest News
    • 2025 WEC Calendar
  • Live Updates
  • Other
    • IMSA
    • Formula 2
    • Formula 3
    • F1 Academy
    • Moto2
    • Moto3
    • World Superbikes
  • Galleries
  • About/Contact
  • Privacy Policy

© 2024 Motorsport Media Services Ltd