A possible advantage in Max Verstappen, Sergio Perez intra-team F1 title fight? “Checo’s got rhino skin”
The 1996 F1 world champion believes Perez, who beat Verstappen in both the A♔zerbaijan Grand Prix sprint and Sunday’s main race, 🌄has demonstrated that he has “rhino skin”.
While Hill thinks there is a mutual resp꧋ect between the Red Bull pairing, he highlighted a potential key factor that may ultimately swing things in Per🌠ez’s favour.
“I did the post-r🐽ace interviews so I saw them get out of the car,” Hill said on the F1 Nation podcast.
“Max got out o🌳f the car, went over to his own mechanics and then he gave Checo a hug actually and a hanꦐdshake.”
Host Tom Clarkson interjected to ask: “As in to say 'well done mate, you beat me 🐠fair and square?'”
To which, Hill respo🧔nded: “Y𓃲eah absolutely. So I think there is respect there.
“But Checo’s got the resilience. Things bounce off him. He’s got rhino skin and I think that’s real🅠ly important.”
Perez’s double victory in Baku saw him enjoy a nine-point swing over Verstappen as he cut the Dutchman⭕’s championship lead down to six points.
“We want a championship,” Hill added. “We want to se🧔e Form🔯ula 1 going through the season with a tight battle. And if we’ve only got two Red Bull drivers, that’s still good.
We’ve seen some titanic battles with dominant teams, with two drivers in those teams being the contenders. So to see the gap close again after the sprint weekend here in Baku, we can go to the next rac𝕴e thinking, ‘what’s going to happen next𓃲?’ I think it’s a good thing.”
But Hill questioned whether Perez woul▨d have been able to take the fight to Verstappen had ci🎃rcumstances played out differently and he found himself behind the two-time world champion.
“In Saudi I was sur🌜prised at how he [Perez] managed to hold him [Verstappen] at bay, but one swallow does🐽n’t make a summer does it?” Hill said.
“But he’s done it again, he’s done it again here. Okay, he got lucky with the Safety Car. Max wo🐼uld have been out there.
“But probably, if Max hadn’t been unlucky with the Safety Car and was leading and had track position and Sergio was s🌱econd, I’m not sure Sergio has the strength to take the fight to Max over a long-distance race.
"They were very evenly matched and you could see that the guy behind was pro𝔉bably struggling more than the guy in front.”
Lewis regularly attends Grands Prix for mahbx.com around the world. Oft🔥en reporting on the action from the ground, Lewis tells the stories of the people who matter in the sport.
