[RomanPearce]

One of the most underrated drivers on the grid, Sergio Perez has been a part of the F1 family since 2011. Although he was never in a car that was competitive enough to fight for podiums(until Racing Point 2020), Checo was known to make the most out of surprise opportunities.

It is safe to say that 2020 was the best season of the Mexican race driver, as he stood 4th in the drivers championship, even after missing two races because he was infected with Covid 19. A remarkable feat, amplified even more by the fact that his team Racing Point had made the early decision of replacing him with Ferrari driver and 4 time world champ Sebastian Vettel for 2021. Perez was fighting for his job and his pride, and how. He performed consistently as the king of the midfield and ended the season with a victory, the first F1 win of his career.

With the season coming to an end, and still no seat, fans were praying for Checo to get a ride for 2021. And now, Redbull Racing have officially signed him as their driver for the 2021 season!

Makes me wonder that Racing Point leaving Sergio Perez is probably the best thing for his career right now because the Redbull F1 car seems to have a shot at challenging the ever-dominant Mercedes. Can't wait for the next season to begin!

[SideView]

Soo happy for Checho, he deserved the seat. Hopefully he take the fight to Verstappen.

Sad to see Albon loose the seat hopefully he comes backs stronger and not give up on F1

[thehighwayman]

Racing Point's loss is truly Red Bull's gain. Sergio was always quick and was perhaps the main reason why RP came so close to clinching 3rd position in the constructors. Now if only Hulk could find a seat for 2021..

[deetjohn]

At least something is right with this world!

I was not a fan of Perez in his early years, but he has done so so well in the later years. Force India really made him and he in returned saved the team from folding!

On merit, he really picked himself before Vettel or Stroll for the new season. But it wasn't meant to be and for this man to not have a seat in the sport would have been gross injustice.

I watched this chat the other day and I had a lump in my throat. One could sense even Buxton feeling it towards the very end!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pAv1-gXrNQs&

And credit to Red Bull. Though, they made a mess of their second seat with dropping Gasly and not knowing what to do with Albon, I really didn't think they had it in them to hire Perez even when strong murmurs floated in the paddock.

Perez should also be careful to not make a repeat of his McLaren days. This is very much a team built around Max and that will come with its own tribulations. But this decision is a no brainer and I am so happy for him!

[ZenMaster]

The silly season has come full circle, with Carlos Sainz finally having a chance to be "not ingnored" by the broadcastors because they cannot ignore Ferrari drivers, Danny Ric getting to drive under Andreas Seidl and for a great team that is on an upward trajectory and will have the powerful Mercedes engine and challenge for P3 Next year, Vettel finally leaving the Toxic relationship with Ferrari and getting a fresh start and the man who Seb Vettel displaced getting a drive from his old World Championship winning team. Sometimes, what seem to be curses and blessings in disguise.

Oh and Alonso coming into stir the pond and muddy the water

Next season's going to be intense (atleast behind the 2 Mercedes)

[KPR]

Albon has wasted an opportunity I would say. With MAX as teammate he should be among the top 4 mostly in Qualifier and races but often seen floundering among 5th to 10th. The way he has performed this season is just above average which isn't acceptable. Let's see if Perez can do what Albon couldn't.

[Mat095]

Originally Posted by SideView

Soo happy for Checho, he deserved the seat. Hopefully he take the fight to Verstappen.

I hope they both take the fight to Mercedes. The last thing you’d want is both of these drivers having internal problems within the team. Hopefully, with Vettel in Aston Martin, Max and Perez in Red Bull, these drivers have much more competent cars than before and can take the fight to Mercedes making the 2021 season much more interesting.

[BrakingBad]

Great thing for Checho. I feel he could achieve what he hasn't in a Mclaren. Most of all, would like to see how he fares against Max. Personally speaking, would love to see checho beating Max on track. for all his great skills, speed, Max has a motor mouth (my personal opinion). if Checho can shut him up, it would be great and max will put all his energy in driving and it would be a battle to watch out.

The most worried person in my opinion is going to be Botas - In 2020 with albon not in podium contention, he had a podium assurance on most races. however, now with both Redbulls fighting for podium, VB is going to be in hot seat. If he struggles, then constructors championship is up for grabs for Redbull.

[Fury]

The best F1 news in 2020 so far! (my opinion). After all the brilliant drives, it would have been outrageous if he was out of seat for 2021 while pay drivers with lower skill such as Lance Stroll and Nicholas Latifi still had seats. True, Checo too was a pay driver in the early days but unlike the others, he has shown his skill when given a competitive car.

Albon is really not ready to be in a top F1 team and his promotion was rushed due to lack of options. A year as test and reserve driver should releive him of some of the pressure and eventually he may find a seat somewhere else if Checo performs to Redbull's expectations.

[RomanPearce]

Albon is doing what any decent first season f1 driver would do in a Red Bull, consistently finishing in 6th place in most races. However, Red Bull has such a massive car advantage that on an overtake friendly track like Austin the midfielders do not even attempt to resist. Alex ended over 70 seconds behind Max who was carrying front wing and floor damage. Yes he had an extra pitstop but how do you explain the extra 45 seconds deficit? Redbull Racing always maintained as to how they are looking for someone who is fast enough to give them a strategic aid against their rivals. Hopefully Alex comes back stronger.

Redbull said: Algone and Checin!

Perez will push his new teammate and won't make it easy from him. And in the form he has been, I expect then to be surprisingly close during the races!

[petro_phoenix]

It would have been such a shame not to have Checo on the grid next year. I have liked him from the days he used to pull podiums off his hat for Force India and it was wonderful to see Red Bull announce him for a 2021 drive. With Red Bull making rapid strides with their car, it would be good for the sport to have real battles for P1 in the 2021 races. This, however, is unlikely given how Mercedes is known to work on their next year's cars right from the summer.

Originally Posted by Mat095

I hope they both take the fight to Mercedes. The last thing you’d want is both of these drivers having internal problems within the team.

This is the first thing that came to my mind, especially with the history between Ocon and Perez. But I guess Red Bull will manage the situation better than Force India did. They probably have something about being a "team player" in the contract as well and this could have been one of the reasons for the delay in signing as well.

Originally Posted by BrakingBad

The most worried person in my opinion is going to be Botas - In 2020 with albon not in podium contention, he had a podium assurance on most races. however, now with both Redbulls fighting for podium, VB is going to be in hot seat. If he struggles, then constructors championship is up for grabs for Redbull.

This would be interesting to watch, as Bottas also has Russell breathing down his neck for taking that second seat. However, knowing how shrewd a manager Toto Wolff is, I don't think he will make the same mistake Dr. Helmut Marko made with Gasly and Albon. He will be given enough time for maturing as a driver in order to handle the psychological pressure Hamilton would exert as a teammate. Gasly and Albon were fast as well in Toro Rosso but seemed to have withered in the face of Max's psychological pressure. In 2020, Bottas too appeared to have given in to this kind of pressure from Hamilton despite a good start to his 2020 campaign. Ideally, Russell would need at least a couple of years in a proper midfield car to mature further but that seems unlikely as neither Aston Martin nor McLaren would want a loaned driver. Having said that, one can only hope that investments from Dorilton Capital and the management rejig will finally move Williams back into the midfield.

[SSO]

Originally Posted by Fury

The best F1 news in 2020 so far! (my opinion). After all the brilliant drives, it would have been outrageous if he was out of seat for 2021 while pay drivers with lower skill such as Lance Stroll and Nicholas Latifi still had seats. True, Checo too was a pay driver in the early days but unlike the others, he has shown his skill when given a competitive car.

Agree, great to see Perez in a Red Bull. Hulk also deserves a 2021 seat.

On Perez being a pay driver, I would put him in a different category than Stroll or Latifi. Stroll and Latifi's parents literaly bought them their F1 seats, where Perez came with significant sponsorship dollars that he had earned coming up through the ranks based on his talent.