The Mexican driver starred as the first guest on the new season of F1’s Beyond The Grid podcast and talked about being handed the big opportunity to impress in a team as big as Red Bull after being named their new driver at the end of the 2020 season;

Red Bull has “good momentum,” Perez told the official F1 website. “I just think that in general there is a lot of hope, that and there is definitely good direction and the team is solid.”

Before being named, Perez was told by Racing Point, now Aston Martin Cognizant F1 Team, that he would not be retained for the next season. This came after he missed two races due to testing positive for Covid-19.

“Getting Covid, being the first one, I was like the ‘weird guy’.

“I think at the time Formula 1 thought that we were bullet-proof to it,” he explained. “So, I got a lot of criticism and it was at a very critical time in my career because it was a time where I needed to be in the car because I was about to lose the drive.

“In the end, I lost the drive. It was very late in the year and there were very little opportunities there happening.”

He mentioned having a plan to take a sabbatical and return in 2022, when he already had some options offered. But that did not go on as he was offered the opportunity to be Max’s teammate.

He also talked about the big challenge that is facing Max. Perez confessed he thinks the Dutchman is a very complete driver, and he found no surprises, Max is a strong driver all around and that is going to be a task and challenge for himself.

“But this is what I wanted. I wanted to measure against the best in the sport. So, it’s a great challenge and a great opportunity and something that I’m looking so much forward. The way I see it is that I’ve got absolutely nothing to lose in my career. I’ve been lucky enough to have a fantastic career, so whatever comes next is great.”

“I don’t see why he should be worried about me or why I should be worried about him. We’ve both come here to do the best possible job,” he added.

Checo added that he couldn’t get too much from the Dutchman’s data traces yet due to the different conditions they both faced in the Bahrain test.

“Conditions have been so different in these couple of days for both of us,” continued Perez. “I haven’t seen enough, you know? He’s driven with a track that is 10-15 degrees cooler at times and vice versa, with the wind changing.

“In the first three or four races I will know more but I can already see that he is a very fast, solid driver.”

But the Bahrain test was not the first time they worked together as teammates, they have been working ahead of the season, which gave Perez an insight of Verstappen’s personality.

“He’s a very chilled guy. No political things going on around him,” said Perez. “He just enjoys driving and we’ve had good fun in the couple of times we’ve spent together.

“We’ve done a lot of [PR] together. It’s been non-stop! We’ve spent two days together doing stuff for media and it’s been just enjoyable. Max is just a young guy that enjoys life and gets on with the driving.”

As the season is soon to be here, the Bulls have turned up the heat and are already the favorites of some supporters going into the first race.