Perez: Verstappen makes no mistakes pushing the limit all the time

While some lobby that Verstappen needs a more potent teammate, there is another camp that suggests that as long as Perez is finishing second to his teammate, he is doing his job. Because if Max can win so regularly and with relative ease every Sunday, driving the awesome and yet-to-be-beaten RB19, then Checo should be second at least, and preferably in Max's mirrors.

Or at least like he was at Monza, delivering a typical Perez drive from P5 on the grid, he went on to finish second on a famous day for his team. He played his 'number two' role to perfection on Sunday at the Italian Grand Prix. Now more of the same is required from him going forward and regularly.

Interviewed by DAZN, Perez said of his younger teammate: "At the moment, I think Max Verstappen is at a very, very strong level. He is on fire with the car and I am not. Every weekend it's hard for me to get there, but I've gotten pretty close. And I hope that in the next few races, we can be at their level.

The Mexican continued: "Verstappen doesn't make mistakes, and really, he pushes the limit all the time. The main difference between us is that Max has been able to maintain his level all the time and I have not been able to. As the car has evolved it has cost me more."

Invariably, there are drivers and their management teams keep to destabilise Perez, calling for alternative drivers to partner Verstappen, suggesting the driver of the #11 car is not up to it and deserving of such a good car.

Hard to argue that when considering that after four races, at the start of this season, the score was 2-2 on wins between Verstappen and Perez. The latter had raised his game to beat Max in Jeddah and Baku on merit. But that was the last defeat the Dutchman allowed, as he found another gear or two that has left Checo at a loss on many weekends since then.

Perez admitted: "There are hard moments because it is not easy to be in this environment under all this pressure. Being Max's teammate is not easy. But it is important to remember to enjoy this trip, enjoy these moments.

"I enjoying it a lot, giving my best and that's all I can control. And that's what I'm doing against the most complete driver on the grid, without a doubt, which is Max Verstappen," emphasised Perez for good measure.

As for his own future within Red Bull, the number two driver in the team, Perez reckoned: "Every year you learn things and that's why I like this sport so much. You're learning things all the time. I think the most important thing is learning from your mistakes.

"No, with the season we have had, the next few races in an environment where I feel I can contribute is important. And that place for 2024 is not here, we will have to look for other alternatives. But right now, my main focus is to be here [Red Bull] to win more races, to continue winning championships with Red Bull. I have a contract until next year and sometime next year we will sit down and talk."

But before then, if he can't beat Verstappen, 33-year-old Perez has to make sure he finishes second because his reality could be more in his mind. He is not getting worse, it's the guy in the #1 car, who at 25 gets better and better with every race.

Perez has a plan for the second half of the 2023 F1 World Championship: "I'm looking forward to this second part of the season. I think the bad times are behind us and now I feel much more comfortable with the car. And I think we're going to have a good end to the year."