Perez: Very proud of what Max has done this season

Sergio Perez has been one of the best teammate's Max Verstappen has ever had, the Mexican playing a great support role to the Dutchman since joining Red Bull in 2021.

Perez was a rear gunner for Verstappen several times last year as the latter fought bitterly with Lewis Hamilton for the F1 Title as the former played strong strategic roles on several occasions during that season.

At the 2022 Japanese Grand Prix, Perez was also a factor behind Verstappen's Title win at Honda's home, as he pressured Charles Leclerc who was running second, pushing him to a mistake on the final lap where he went through the runoff area gaining an advantage.

The Monegasque was relegated to third after receiving a five-second time penalty for his mistake, which meant Verstappen has a big enough gap to the Ferrari driver to clinch his second F1 Crown.

"I am very proud of what Max has done this season; he has stepped up as a driver," Perez said in Red Bull's post race report.

"I was fighting with him in the beginning but then halfway through the year he moved into another gear, the way he drove in some races was unbelievable," Perez conceded.

"It is a massive day for the Team, to do this in Japan in front on Honda and with a one-two is incredible. Hopefully soon we are able to secure the Constructors Championship for our Team, that will be massive. I am massively looking forward to the rest of the year.

Of his intense battle with Leclerc, Perez said: "It was a great battle with Charles today, it was nice that we got to race because at one point we though we wouldn't get to.

"It was a fantastic fight and we were pushing him hard towards the end, it was so difficult to overtake without DRS but I kept the pressure on, he made the mistake and he got the penalty to give me P2," he concluded.

Speaking to Sky Sports F1 in the media pen after the race, Perez also weighed in on what will be a main talking point in F1 for the coming days - Pierre Gasly's near miss with a recovery tractor sent out to collect Carlos Sainz's stricken Ferrari after the Spaniard crashed on the opening lap.

"That’s the lowest point we’ve seen in the sport for years," Perez said. "What happened today just makes me so angry. I just hope ever in the sport we never get to see this situation ever again.

"We saw what happened here a few years ago with our friend Jules and absolutely I don’t care about what was the reason for that. It should never happen again, ever in any category," the Red Bull driver concluded.