The Red Bull team has endured a bumpy start to the 2022 season so far with a total of three DNFs spread out over the first three races.

However, despite the reliability issues and challenges that the RB18 has presented to both of its drivers this season, Sergio Perez finds himself in an advantageous position ahead of his teammate Max Verstappen in the drivers' standings. After the Australian Grand Prix has been completed, the Mexican driver currently sits fourth in the standings with a total of 30 points while Verstappen trails in sixth with 25 points.

Perez made his debut with the Red Bull team in 2021 and encountered numerous challenges adjusting to the RB16B. Despite the issues that Red Bull has been experiencing with their RB18 challenger up to this point in the season under the new 2022 tech regulations,

Checo attributes his early success to the equal level playing field resulting directly from the new rules. When asked directly about whether or not the RB18 suits his driving style, Perez pointed out how starting from zero under the new regulations makes a significant difference between teammates.      

“Well, I think one of the main differences is that we are all starting from zero, you know. Last year when I came, you’ve got to remember that it was like the third year of the same regulation. So the cars were fairly similar. So when you join a new team, it's quite hard to catch up,” Perez told media at the Australian Grand Prix.        

“But when we are all starting from zero, it certainly makes a difference. But I do believe that everyone is just figuring out how to drive these cars the best, you know. I don't think there's anyone at the moment who is 100% with their cars, and similarly with the teams you know, so there will be a lot of improvements coming from here.”

Team Principal at Red Bull, Christian Horner believes that Perez is undergoing an easier transition into the team, his second year, and echoes the Mexican’s sentiment regarding the benefits of the complete reset of the 2022 regulations on the RB18.

Horner discussed Checo’s progress thus far in the season and stated that the team is “delighted” with his performance. The Red Bull boss expressed his overall satisfaction with Perez.     

“Yeah, I think… look, it's always going to be easier for Checo coming into his second season. He knows the team, he knows the infrastructure and I think we've also had a reset, obviously in terms of regulations so the car has been a complete reset,” Horner said.

“And I think he's done very well so far. I think that the gap between he and Max has obviously converged. And yeah, he was very unlucky in Bahrain. He did a stunning job in qualifying in Jeddah, he was unlucky in the in the race and then on a sample of two races, we've been delighted with his performance so far.