[FourWheelDrift]

I'm sure there are Sergio Perez fans as well as Alex Albon fans on this forum. Not to exclude Pierre Gasly fans!

But if one were to objectively analyze the race by race performance of Perez in 2021 and Albon in 2020, then are Red Bull Racing better or worse off?

If one wants to be really comprehensive, then how do both of them compare with Pierre Gasly's first 5 races with Red Bull Racing in 2019?

This story and the answer to this conundrum will evolve through the 2021 season, but I thought it might be useful to get those interested in airing their views / predictions on this topic, to share them here.

After the first 12 races, the discussion can't include Gasly, as he switched back to Toro Rosso in 2019.

For what it's worth, in the first 5 F1 GPs in 2021, I believe Red Bull Racing are better off with Perez, in terms of points scored in the first 5 GPs. This advantage will only grow as the season progresses.

2021 Perez 44 points
2020 Albon 35 points
2019 Gasly 31 points

That's my view / prediction. Over to you!

Cheers,

FourWheelDrift

[Red Liner]

Perez all the way. There is no way Albon or Gasly would have pulled off what he did at the Monaco GP. He has the right mix of enthusiasm, fire in the belly, amd experience to make things happen. That red bull car has been developed for Max and Perez is trying to adapt to it. Much like Danny and Carlos.

But Carlos has an advantage. He joined the team when they were developing the 2021 car. The 2020 car was a write off. That helped and the car has been brought to the road keeping in mind both Carlos and Leclercs priorities.

My money is on Perez to deliver over the next few races.

[rahulcmoulee]

Going through the data, the only aspect where Perez is lacking compared to Max is qualifying pace and that is something he needs to work on. But in the race, his average laptimes are usually only 1-2 tenths off Max which is what Red Bull needs. If he can qualify closer to Max, he can play the perfect support role limiting Merc's strategic options.

[Turbohead]

I'm a huge Perez fan after the Sakhir 2020 GP! What a race!

All I can say is that he excels in race conditions but isn't an all out speed demon. Unfortunately, qualifying is a big part of F1 and he's very inconsistent here. A proper inverse of Bottas who's fast in qualifying but can be all over the place on a race day.

As far as the comparison is concerned, it's too early to determine. It takes time to get used to a car, especially when it's built with someone else in mind.

[IshaanIan]

Perez is definitely the better number 2 driver at red bull racing's F1 team, I have no doubt about that. He is consistent and as he showed in Monaco this last weekend, he is ready to do whatever it takes for the team even if it means coming 4th and not fighting for a podium spot. As many who might have seen the race would know, he was within striking distance of Lando Norris however I feel he did not make the move since it would be dangerous on a tight track like Monaco and with a safety car out, it would have given Hamilton the opportunity to overtake Gasly and Vettel once the race began this was a risk he did not want the team to incur and as a result that makes him the mature solid and dependable number 2 driver that RBR has always needed.

[TT-S]

No doubt that Perez is better than Albon here - but the keyword here is "adaptability". Perez has been in F1 for many seasons, in multiple teams driving cars with different characteristics. Compared to this Albon had just two seasons in F1. And Max is truly embedded in Red Bull team for many years now and the car is built around him.

Look how Ricciardo is struggling at McLaren compared to Norris - Norris has been with McLaren for 2 years now and knows the strengths and quirks of the car he is driving, better than Daniel - which would help him push it more, confidently.

The king of adaptation was Alonso (Till 2018 - in his prime years) - whatever car he drove, he used to get the maximum from it, most of the time beating his teammates in the process.

[Fiestaboy]

Albon & Gasly are young lads with less experience compared to Perez.
On the other hand, Perez was totally new to Redbull unlike Alb/Gasly, who drove sister cars of Redbull.

Though Redbull & AlphaTauri are different, they carry same powertrains & I would presume they carry forward many similar designs & for this year, I believe AlphaTauri carries Redbull's 2020 rear end.

In such a scenario, I expect a tougher environment for Perez than Gasly & Albon. However, only edge which will help Perez is his vast experience.
After all these challenges, I see that Perez is improving day by day.

Hence my vote goes to Perez & to what extent? - to the extent that he might become a headache or tough fight to Max at the end of 2021. I might be wrong, but at this point of time i think he will get accustomed to RB by summer break of F1.

Note:
Off topic, I think Ricciardo was the best driver in RB I had seen paired with Max & if he is with RB now, I think RB would be leading constructor championship by at least 30-40 points. Ric leaving RB is a lose-lose situation for both, at least as of now.

[Swaraj65]

Perez is the better driver no doubt about it. He has great race management skills just needs to work on qualifying pace and Mercedes will feel the pressure(they are already feeling it)

But the 2021 RedBull is a lot more stable then the 2019 and 2020 cars which gasly and albon drove. The blame should be on redbull for putting 2 rookies in such cars.

They also did great injustice to albon dropping him completely from the sport. He can have no redemption stroy like gasly.

[speedmiester]

Perez is more matured driver and definitely better suited at Red Bull to beat Mercedes.
After a long stint with Racing Point, Redbull is a very different car altogether. It will certainly take time, but we will be seeing Perez challenging for the podiums and race wins sooner than later.

A big advantage of Perez is that he looks after his tyres much better than anyone else on the grid, this is very important and has yielded him better race results.
Remember Turkey 2020, it was a great drive by Perez to get to second on a very difficult track with varying track conditions.

[svmvale]

Very good thread.

Perez is definitely a more experienced driver. Perez is fantastic at tyre management. So he manages wonderful drives through the field.

Now he has a race winning car, driving at the front of the field is a different mindset. Lets see how he goes. He needs to relax and adapt to the car. Aside from Monaco, he has been trying a bit too hard.

Seb is the opposite, 2009 to 2014, Red Bull was the class leading car and most of his wins were from the front two rows. He is not good in the mid field and wheel to wheel battles.

Nothing against Albon and Gasly, there were a bit too young and naive. And Max is a monster of a team mate and their No. 1 driver. Car is also built to his driving style.

Red Bull started with experienced drivers and then their youth programs gave out very good talent like Vettel, Danny Ric and Max. All Championship winning material. Last two were a mixed bag. RB also gave us Sainz and Kvyat.

Red Bull, need to have two cars up front to fight with Mercedes. And i think, Perez will do the Bottas job well. Support max and win a few occasional races.

[SShandilya]

I am a big fan of Perez and I seriously think that if Redbull lets him show his pace naturally, he is gonna be the next big thing for sure.
I somehow think there’s a constant pressure on him to perform to Max’s level and given how early they’ve given up on their past 2 drivers, I just hope Checo stays.
This man was doing constant fastest lap on the monaco track till 60th lapwhich for us viewers is boring but it’s the most challenging track for the drivers.
I have my faith in him, I just do

[amitku]

Having followed Perez since his F1 debut, he is an extremely hardworking and fast driver.

For me he compelled RedBull Helmut Marco to ditch his RedBull Driver academy and sign him up with the brilliant Sakhir GP last year, by overtaking Albon in a RedBull with a Racing Point.

Perez won the Sakhir GP, while Alex Albon could only come in 7th, 13 seconds down after the Safety Car restart.

That showed his talent and skills. Also the fact he is a Tyre preservation master.

[SH1N1G4MI]

Originally Posted by Fiestaboy

Note:
Off topic, I think Ricciardo was the best driver in RB I had seen paired with Max & if he is with RB now, I think RB would be leading constructor championship by at least 30-40 points. Ric leaving RB is a lose-lose situation for both, at least as of now.

Danny Ric left because Redbull were trying to make him their #2. Even if he had stayed, we'd probably see a situation similar to Mclaren in 2007, where they'll take each other out of the driver's championship and Lewis will cruise to another WDC. So I think its actually better Dany left when he did because Redbull were able to get a more compliant driver into that second seat, granted there were a few false starts but right now they are in a good place with Checo.

[mak.prasada]

Checo is a well-seasoned warrior. He expertly navigated the politics of F1 by saving his seat when Force India was in administration. He also had brilliant drives all over in Racing Point and was a crucial part in them becoming a strong mid-table team. Personally, I believe Otmar had committed a mistake in letting Perez go in favour of Vettel. In my honest opinion felt like they went for Vettel considering his global fanbase and past achievements. Probably best for Perez with him being in a great car now and with his skills, grit, and determination, RBR will take the fight to MB's doorstep this year.

[StarrySky]

I think it still remains to be seen if Perez would do any better than Albon/Gasly. Don't forget that Albon jumped into the RB mid-season in 2019 and scored more points in his first 5 races than Perez has done now.

I am not convinced that Perez can beat either Mercedes on pace in normal circumstances. After his two DNFs in 5 races, Bottas is still ahead of Perez in the standings. Even in those races Bottas DNFed, Perez wasn't there to pickup a podium place.

One thing that can help Perez is that RB will soon switch development to 2022, if they haven't already done so. So, he needn't worry about the development going away from him for the rest of the year, and can work on adapting to the car. RB also seems to be at least 2nd best on pace on most tracks and this order should also remain stable as most teams will be concentrated more on development for next season.