Sergio Perez: Max is head and shoulders above the rest

At Suzuka, Sergio Pérez helped Max Verstappen win the championship by attacking Charles Leclerc and forcing him into a mistake. After the race he spoke about his feelings…

Q: Sergio, for the seventh time this year you finished second. The battle with Charles turned out to be spectacular. Can you tell me about the last laps?
Sergio Perez: Yes, another good fight. Overtaking without DRS is very difficult here. I attacked from Turn 11 to Turn 14, then into Turn 17, but Charles defended well. He handled his race well, his tires when they lost traction. It was very difficult for him, I understood that the only way to move forward was to force him to make a mistake. At the end of the race, when I thought there was still a lap to go, he was wrong – and we won the winning double.

Q: Tell me how Max won the second championship title?
Sergio Perez: Max had an incredible season. I can’t say that our car was dominant enough to win the title like Max did. He stood head and shoulders above the others.

At the start of the season I was much closer to him, but then he felt more comfortable behind the wheel, I was less comfortable – and Max rode at a completely different level than everyone else. I treat him with great respect. Winning the championship title in Suzuka is very cool. As well as the winning double for Honda, which we won. This is a special day for the whole team.

Q: What do you think of the look of a tractor on the track?
Sergio Perez: Under no circumstances should a tractor drive onto the track while vehicles are present. You don’t know what could happen there. It doesn’t matter what the conditions are. In principle this should not be allowed.

I really hope this is the last time we see tow trucks on the track in a motorsport category with cars running on them.