Sergio Pérez was an important protagonist last Sunday in the definition of the Formula 1 drivers’ championship between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen at the Yas Marina circuit.
The Mexican driver took the lead on lap 15 after pit stops by Hamilton and Verstappen, but was soon caught up again by the Mercedes driver, when he had an eight-second lead over Verstappen.
Checo dedicated himself to avoiding by all possible means, within the legality, that Hamilton overtook him. In fact, for a moment the seven-time champion overtook him, but the one from Guadalajara was able to regain the lead in the next corner.
Once Hamilton finally managed to overtake him, Pérez quickly opened up to let Verstappen pass, who had moved to within a second of Hamilton thanks to Checo’s holding off.
Montoya , in an interview for Motorsport.tv, said that what Pérez did would not have been viewed favorably in the years he was racing in Formula 1.
“It’s funny now how people see it from that angle. ‘Oh my God, it’s great that Checo got involved and helped Max.’ And I think he did a very good job for Max,” the Colombian began his analysis of the situation.
“Twenty years ago, if the second driver did that, they would have ripped him apart. And if Rubens (Barrichello) ever helped Michael (Schumacher), everyone was like, ‘Oh my God! Why are you helping Michael? You gave up a victory, a position…’ And it was a great drama at that time, whereas today it is said: ‘Oh, he helped him, he got in the middle and it was good that he did it’. “.
Juan Pablo Montoya, Williams
Asked why he thought there was such a change in thinking, the former Williams and McLaren driver replied: “I don’t know, it’s very crazy. Honestly, I think if you went with Max you think what Checo did was sensational because it helped him. But if you went with Lewis or were neutral you wonder why he got involved.
Delving further into Perez’s running style with Hamilton, Montoya added: “Yeah, you’re trying to run, but running in a way where you really want to get in the middle and Lewis knows if he dives they’d collide and qualify him as a race incident, and they (Red Bull) were counting on it.
“Red Bull played all the cards to achieve it (the title) and in the end they did it, luck was on their side. Whether they were the right decisions or not is up to the FIA to analyze it,” said the Colombian.
