Perez: Verstappen an F1 great like Senna and Schumacher

Indeed they were not, his performances in Jeddah and Baku were stellar. Everything Verstappen threw at Perez, the veteran responded. Beating the #1 car fair and square. But that seems a long time ago as Max, got going after that, and has since powered to six wins in a row.

At the same time, chasing his dominant teammate, Perez is amid a run of poor form. With the fastest car on the grid - which the Red Bull RB19 is - the Mexican is struggling to make it into Q3. At Silverstone, he was stranded and out in Q1, while Max took pole position.

With Daniel Ricciardo back in a seat at the RBR junior AlphaTauri team, replacing underperforming rookie Nyck de Vries, Perez is under pressure to raise his game and rediscover his mojo. At the same time, it is worth remembering that the guy in the other Blue car is a phenomenon. This a fact Checo pointed out during a RBR Roadshow in Madrid this weekend.

Max Verstappen is one of the greats of Formula 1," declared Perez to Marca. "Like Michael Schumacher or Ayrton Senna. So I'm not second in the F1 World Championship because of a miracle, I've won two races and I've had some bad ones, but I'm still there."

Perez's dip in form is exacerbated by the fact that the current field is probably as close as it has ever been. Apart from Verstappen strutting his stuff way ahead, the rest are covered by a blink of an eye, with some teams doing a better job than others.

"I didn't expect this level of Aston Martin, they pleasantly surprised me, as well as McLaren. Everything is very even. But my goal remains to finish second in the championship," insisted Perez.

After the roadshow, burning doughnuts in central Madrid, Perez enthused: "I hope this city has a grand prix in the future, it deserves it. Driving in Madrid is a dream. Even if I'm not at home, I feel as if I were."

"Street circuits are special because they create a different atmosphere in each city. This is a great city and the atmosphere would be fantastic. Also, I am very good at them these circuits," he added with a smile and wink.

Interestingly, Perez has dropped the "I want to be champion" narrative and appears to have paid attention to his bosses who, when his form dipped as he was talking up a title tilt, told him to forget the title, and shut up and drive. Now he has a more realistic target, namely P2 in the championship come November.

With the top F1 prize off his radar, Perez - with the best car on the grid which the Red Bull RB19 is - the Mexican should be able to beat his pursuers during the remaining dozen races, but then they are none other than Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton!