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Former F1 driver Johnny Herbert is intrigued by the unfolding battle at Red Bull, believing Sergio Perez to be hauling himself into title contention.

Perez has become one of F1’s top contenders for victory in 2022 as the Mexican driver has found form with the new regulations and the new cars introduced over the winter.

Perez rarely proved a match for Max Verstappen during their first year together as Red Bull team-mates in 2021, although he proved invaluable as a rear gunner for Verstappen’s title fight with Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton.

However, with the 2022 ruleset introducing revolutionary new cars, Perez has upped his game. Scoring pole position in Jeddah, he led convincingly until an unfortunately-timed Safety Car wrecked his race. Perez also fought for victory in Spain, losing out to Verstappen after a team call prevented him from running his strategy as optimally as possible.

But Perez proved unstoppable in Monaco, leading the Red Bull charge all weekend and coming home a convincing winner ahead of Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz.

Now just 15 points off the top of the Drivers’ Championship, Perez has been rewarded with a new two-year deal at Red Bull – and Herbert has praised the Mexican for how his diligent approach to racing has paid off.

“I think he’s getting closer and I say it’s getting closer because I think he’s settling into the team brilliantly,” Herbert told