Perez regrouped at Force India, gradually building himself up to be the team’s talisman, its rock-solid driver on track.
Eight seasons at the Silverstone team brought seven podiums including that famous Sakhir win and, aged 30, he was ready to kick on at a top level team in Red Bull for 2021.
Targeting championships at Red Bull
“If we have a car that can win the championship, I’ll make sure we win it,” Perez said upon signing for the Milton Keynes outfit. “And if not, and we only have a car that’s good enough for third I will make sure that we finish second. I’m going to make sure I overdeliver.
“I am always pushing to the maximum and last year I finally had a car that I could show a bit more and people saw what I am capable of, but now is my big opportunity. I have to go onto the next step in all aspects and I think I’m ready for it. The only thing I was lacking was the opportunity.”
The Mexican was justified in his words. He had always overdelivered for Force India/Racing Point, the team which in recent seasons had got so much more out of its limited resources than McLaren, Williams, Renault and others.
Perez also acknowledged that he hadn’t exactly covered himself in glory during his last stint with a big team in McLaren, and was ready to put that chastening experience to good use.
“When you’ve been through it before, it just makes you focus on the right stuff,” he said.
“And technically you develop a lot of skills as well throughout your career. The opportunity comes in a great point of my career, and it’s going to work out well.”
Five races to get comfortable and then victory
When his Red Bull debut season got underway in 2021, Perez made a solid but hardly spectacular start.
Qualifying 11th and finishing fifth on his Bahrain debut, it took him six races to score a podium – but when he did he was on the top step.
Perez had said he needed five races to get his head around the Red Bull, and he was right.
Running third in the closing stages of Round 6 at the Azerbaijan GP, Verstappen’s late race puncture and Lewis Hamilton’s botched restart handed the Mexican the win at the death.
“I am so, so happy for today,” he said in the aftermath. “The race, normally Baku is pretty crazy. I have to say I am very sorry for Max because he did a tremendous race and he really deserved the win. It would have been incredible to get that 1-2 for the team but at the end, it is a fantastic day for us.”
Perez’s form for the rest of season now could be taken as an indicator for things to come. While team-mate Verstappen was fighting tooth-and-nail for his first title with Lewis Hamilton, Perez was knocking around in fourth to sixth place most of the time.
Though not setting the F1 world alight, he did manage four more podiums in 2021, but it was at the infamous 2021 Abu Dhabi finale where he truly proved his worth.
Acting as Verstappen’s rear gunner, Perez held up Hamilton who had fallen behind the Mexican after a pitstop (who was yet to come in), repeatedly getting back past the Mercedes driver just when a slightly-cautious Hamilton thought he had the move made.