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Sergio Perez believes he could have won his second race as a Red Bull driver at the 2022 F1 Spanish GP, but is happy with his P2 finish behind teammate Max Verstappen.
The 32-year-old secured the Austrian team's second one-two finish of the season and even took home an extra point for setting the fastest lap.
Sergio Perez was asked to share his thoughts in parc fermé by former F1 driver Pedro de la Rosa in front of an adoring Spanish crowd. The Mexican said:
“I have been feeling a lot of support this weekend so I am extremely happy to be on the podium for the first time in the Spanish Grand Prix. I think it was close but at the end it is a great team result and I am happy with that. We went on different tire strategies and I let Max by in the beginning, but then I thought I could go by and not lose crucial seconds to make my strategy work. But anyway...it is a team result.”
Sergio Perez had overtaken Verstappen after the latter spun out due to a tailwind heading into Turn 4. He then took the race lead from Mercedes' George Russell after Ferrari's Charles Leclerc was forced to retire his Ferrari. The Red Bull driver was not thrilled when a team order came to allow the reigning world champion to pass. During his cool-down lap after the checkered flag had fallen, the Mexican said the following to his engineer:
"I am happy for the team but we will speak later."
Perez was also seen in conversation with Red Bull team principal Christian Horner and veteran team advisor Dr. Helmut Marko after the race.
Could team orders make Sergio Perez rethink his future at Red Bull?
Sergio Perez has already proven his worth as an able teammate and reliable wingman for Max Verstappen at Red Bull. The Mexican most famously sacrificed his own race to hold Lewis Hamilton up in last season's title decider in Abu Dhabi.
However, he might not want to sacrifice races regularly for his teammate.
Earlier, Sergio Perez had suggested that he would retire before becoming a designated second driver in an interview. He said:
“I couldn’t be in F1 just for the sake of it, and knowing I’m the second driver would be disrespectful to my career. I’m in F1 because I know I can win and be champion. I don’t have to prove anything, I have to prove it to myself. I don’t want to win races, my focus is to win the championship. If they asked me to let Max win a race when I could win the championship we would have problems, but I don’t see that happening now. The team have been open in telling us they want both drivers up front. Nothing would be better than to fight for the championship with Max because that would mean Red Bull is the powerhouse.”
Max Verstappen came into the 2022 F1 Spanish GP as the leading Red Bull ahead of Perez and left the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya as the outright championship leader with 110 points. The Mexican driver stands in third place in the Driver Standings with 85 points after six rounds of the 2022 season.
