Marko lauds Perez: 'On a par with Max!'

Red Bull motorsport boss Helmut Marko praised Sergio Perez's performance in the Australian Grand Prix, insisting the Mexican was "on a par" with teammate Max Verstappen last weekend.

Perez was deprived of a podium on the penultimate lap in Bahrain but went on to snatch his first career pole in F1 in Saudia Arabia.

In Melbourne, Perez continued his run of form with a solid drive to second during which he outpaced Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton and George Russell, a result that partially made up for Verstappen's painful retirement.

"Checo drove a great race and was on a par with Max," Marko told Motorsport-Total.com.

"He did lose a position at the start, but that was a sensational start by Hamilton. That’s exactly what we expect from him [Perez]. And today we are glad that Checo was able to at least finish second."

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Red Bull's new-generation car appears to be well-suited to Perez' style, and coupled with the two-time Grand Prix winner's vast experience, the 32-year-old is seen as a worthy teammate to Verstappen capable of depriving Red Bull's rivals of valuable points and of winning races on his own.

"Checo drove an exceptional race," said Red Bull team boss Christian Horner, echoing marko's comments.

"He got unlucky once again with the Safety Car but did a stunning pass on Lewis into the high speed chicane.

"Then he had to re-pass Fernando [Alonso] and George to get back into that podium position. So a great recovery from him."

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