Valtteri Bottas called upon his experience of competing against Lewis Hamilton when explaining what Sergio Perez needs to do in his bid to outshine Max Verstappen.
The Finnish driver spent five years between 2017 and 2021 racing alongside seven-time world champion Hamilton. And it was not an easy time for him as, despite his own title ambitions, he struggled in the face of competing against the top dog in Formula 1.
Speaking to RacingNews365, the Alfa Romeo driver was asked if he had any guidance for Perez on how to deal with the weight of driving alongside a world champion. Bottas was undoubtedly the 'second' driver at Mercedes behind Hamilton and believes Perez is in the same situation.
"I would say he's quite in a similar situation to mine, where he's against the guy that is the most difficult to bear," said Bottas. "He's really consistent, super talented and he's trying.
"I would say try and not get into a spiral of trying too hard. You know, try, and believe in your skill and doing your own thing. It's easier to say that do but keep trying to get better."
Verstappen was the main man last season as he and Red Bull ran away with both championships. Perez had his best ever year in F1 but was still beaten to second place in the standings by Charles Leclerc.
The early results of the 2023 campaign so far indicate there is again no real threat to Red Bull dominance, meaning Perez could finally have a chance to live out his title dreams.
But standing in his way remains Verstappen, who has an early lead in the standings. Bottas found himself in a similar position in 2020 when no other team could challenge the Mercedes cars, but he still found himself on the back foot.
Perez' father believes, however, that any suggestion his son is not on equal footing with Verstappen is "a lie". He said: "Red Bull is a brand that costs many billions of dollars more than Checo and Max. It is a professional team that wants to win with its two drivers, they want to have lap one from practice one and they want their two drivers to be first and second.
"There is no favouritism for anyone – it is all speculation. Red Bull has the two best tigers in the same cage. If they were not at the same level, what is happening would not exist."
