Verstappen has made me raise my level in F1

Having switched from his longtime home at Racing Point, Perez struggled for much of the 2021 season to get fully up to speed with the RB16B.

A win in Baku in June was a major boost, and he logged four third places on his way to securing fourth in the points table.

However, new world champion Verstappen outscored him by 395.5 points to 190.

In the Abu Dhabi finale Perez was able to play a supporting role by holding up Lewis Hamilton, allowing Verstappen to close the gap to…