Sergio Perez admitted teammate Max Verstappen was “on another planet” at the Belgian Grand Prix.
With the reigning world champion starting 14th after engine-related grid penalties, the Mexican looked set to battle Carlos Sainz for victory at Spa Francorchamps.
But a bad launch saw Perez fall as low as fifth at one point on the opening lap before incidents around him undid all the damage.
“It was a bit of chaos on Lap 1,” he said. “I had a really poor start and lost a couple of positions, but I managed to get them all back into Turn 5.”
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By Lap 12, however, Verstappen had caught and passed Perez, eventually going on to claim victory by almost 18 seconds.
“I really hoped for more,” Checo admitted. “Today it was a good opportunity, but Max was just flying. He was on another planet, and was untouchable.
“But it was a very strong result for the team,” he acknowledged after P2 moved him back into second in the Drivers’ Championship. “I think we managed to get a lot of points today, which is important.”
Red Bull boss Christian Horner agreed with Perez, putting the Belgian GP high up on the list of the team’s greatest races.
“That’s I think one of our biggest ever team performances,” he told Sky Sports.
Double podium ?? Our fifth of the season ???? pic.twitter.com/aYx4tslkWx
— Oracle Red Bull Racing (@redbullracing) August 28, 2022
“I never expected Max to win that race, and particularly to get to the front so quickly. Max has been exemplary this weekend.
“It was an amazing performance. He wasn’t greedy at the start, he was very patient particularly down at Eau Rouge, and he just picked his way through.
“It was an amazing performance, absolutely right up there with the very best that we achieved back in 2010,” he added.
“With Checo right there as well, the fastest lap, a 1-2 finish – it couldn’t have been better for us today.”