Perez Can Claim a Second US Grand Prix Podium With Help From Max
A commanding victory in the Japanese Grand Prix – where he won by 27 seconds in a race reduced to just 28 laps – awarded Max Verstappen his second World Drivers’ Championship title a fortnight ago. The question now is, will the Dutch driver suffer a hangover-induced dip in form?
The 25-year-old was pictured last weekend partying hard at home in Monaco. Of course, the question is metaphorical. But what can be expected of the Red Bull star with just four races – this weekend’s US Grand Prix in Texas, Mexico, Brazil and Abu Dhabi – of the 2022 season remaining?
Team boss Christian Horner could instruct Max Verstappen to give Sergio Perez a helping hand during the final few races of the season. ©RedBullContent
Verstappen needs to win one more race to equal Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel’s record of 13 victories during a single season. In a car that has proven itself superior to all others, it would appear a straightforward task. A new mark of 14 race wins is more likely than possible.
Will Max Present Sergio With a Race Victory?
Setting a new record will serve as an incentive to the 32-time race winner. But an enormous lead in the Constructors’ Championship means his Red Bull team does not have to rely on Max winning races. The Milton Keynes-based Austrian team’s preference is probably his assistance in securing the second spot in the Drivers’ Championship for his teammate, Sergio Perez.
The Mexican is currently one point clear of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc in the standings. Little separates the pair on recent form. Perez, with a race win and a second in his past four starts, has earned 61 world championship points. Leclerc, on a sequence of four consecutive podium finishes, has claimed 66.
These two should provide the bulk of entertainment in the last four contests of the season. But, if Verstappen is to step aside and gift Perez a race victory and 25 valuable points, the feeling is, the Mexican Grand Prix is the most likely race for it to happen.
Verstappen is quoted at 4/9 for race victory this weekend in Texas. It is not difficult to understand why, but the price is too short as a betting proposition. Conversely, the 11/10 offered by the best online betting sites about Perez simply finishing on the podium is very generous.
The Value Is in a Perez Podium
Twice a winner this year, Perez has finished on the podium in half of this season’s 18 races. A fifty percent record is in line with his odds, but there are legitimate reasons to believe those odds should be shorter.
Unusually, Perez and not Verstappen is likely to be given the optimum race strategy. For the past two seasons, Sergio’s races have regularly been compromised to benefit his title-chasing teammate. Once again, this scenario is unlikely to happen on Sunday.
The Circuit of the Americas is also a bonus. The Texan track is tied with Baku for the third-most corners on any Formula 1 circuit. It has 20, behind Singapore with 23 and Jeddah with 27. It is also one of the busiest laps for gear changes, with 72 taking place during each lap. That is comparable to Singapore.
This season, Perez won in Singapore, started in pole position at Jeddah, and finished an excellent second in Baku. He won at the Azerbaijan venue 12 months beforehand and finished third in last season’s US Grand Prix. Unquestionably, there is something about this type of track that brings the best out of him.
Recommended Bet
Sergio Perez to finish on the Podium in the US Grand Prix: 11/10
