Helmut Marko says Sergio Perez's greatest achievement at Red Bull has been to merely "survive" alongside Max Verstappen for the past two years.
Perez was handed the plum seat at Red Bull Racing at the end of the 2020 season, the Mexican replacing Alex Albon who had failed to make much of an impression against Verstappen during his year and a half with the team.
And Albon's predecessor Pierre Gasly lasted only half a season alongside Red Bull's blindingly fast two-time world champion.
Last weekend, Perez finished runner-up to Verstappen in the opening round in Bahrain of the 2023 season, a good start to the four-time Grand Prix winner's campaign.
But beyond his performance last weekend, Marko praised Perez for simply surviving alongside Verstappen in the past two years.
"Sergio has survived two years alongside Max without being broken like most drivers," the Austrian told German website sport.de. "That is a great achievement."
Ahead of this season, Perez outlined his main target for 2023: fighting for race wins at every race.
"I want to maximise the car potential, and I want to be fighting for the win every weekend," he explained last month.
"I'm really working hard for it, and that's my main target."
Marko knows that prevailing against Verstappen is a tall order for Perez, unless unforeseen circumstances come into play, given that the Dutchman "has no weaknesses.
“Overall, the goal is that we want to win first and second place in the World Championship", said Marko. "From our point of view, it is not predetermined that that is Max."
Perez's seat at Red Bull is theoretically safe until the end of 2024. But Marko suggested that it is too early to consider the Mexican's future beyond the end of his current deal.
"We have to see how everything goes," he said. "Such talks and considerations usually start before or after the summer break."
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