Marko: Perez ‘on par’ with Max in Melbourne

Torquing Point: 2022 Australian Grand Prix

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A weekend to forget for Aston Martin

Haas fall back after early season form

Mercedes maximise their Australia result

Leclerc dominant while Sainz struggles

'Frustrating and unacceptable' race for Verstappen

Red Bull’s Helmut Marko felt that both drivers, Sergio Perez and Max Verstappen, were equals at the Australian Grand Prix.

Over the previous three seasons, Verstappen has been able to firmly establish himself as the lead driver at Red Bull, with the problem for the team being finding a driver who could come close to the level which the Dutchman was performing at.

In 2021, Perez’s first season with the team, that trend showed little sign of changing, but following the major regulatory shift in Formula 1 for 2022, Perez has without doubt upped his game.

The Mexican racer claimed pole for the first time in his career at the second round of the season in Saudi Arabia, controlling that race in the early stages before losing out terribly when the Safety Car was deployed, while the Australian GP was then another solid showing.

He would qualify P3, one place behind and within a tenth of Verstappen, before picking up 18 points for a P2 finish in the race following Verstappen’s retirement while running in that position.

Marko was happy with how Perez performed, saying he delivered the kind of race expected of him moving forward.

But the greatest compliment came when Marko described Perez as Verstappen’s equal at Albert Park.

“Checo drove a great race, he was on par with Max,” Marko told ORF, as quoted by Speedweek.com.

“He lost a position at the start because [Lewis] Hamilton made a sensational start,