Jenson Button says he's been very impressed with Sergio Perez's form year-to-date and believes a win in Miami would be a "massive deal' for the Red Bull charger in terms of his championship chances.
Perez finished runner-up to teammate Max Verstappen in Bahrain but won the second round of the season in Jeddah.
The Mexican suffered a troubled weekend in Melbourne that yielded just a fifth-place finish but last weekend in Baku, Perez was firing on all cylinders once again, winning both F1's Sprint event and Sunday's Grand Prix on merit.
As a result, Perez reduced his deficit to Verstappen in the Drivers' championship to just six points, and Button says another winning weekend in Florida would likely take his confidence to the next level.
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"I am really impressed with Sergio," said the 2009 F1 world champion. "Max, he has to be the toughest team-mate, because he just gets out there and gets it done in terms of his speed.
"I think [Perez] did a really good job at the weekend, and back-to-back wins if you like with the sprint race and the main event. That will give him a lot of confidence.
"I think we are only going to really know when we go to the next race kind of a street race as well - if he can pull out a win there.
"I mean that would be a massive deal for him. And I think that would give him confidence for the season."
While impressed with Perez's performance level this season, Button says the Mexican still needs to be more consistent.
"Lewis Hamilton [is] on it every weekend, pretty much," added the Brition.
"Maybe not so with the car this year. But that’s normally the way that they go racing, and that’s why they’re so difficult to beat over a season. Whereas Checo has been a lot more up-and-down.
"It’s much more difficult to win a championship like that when you’re up against Max.
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"So I think the consistency is where Sergio has been lacking. The consistency to pull it out of the bag. But if he can do it in Miami, I think he has a chance to fight for the championship.
"I didn’t think I’d be saying that, I really didn’t. But it’s great to see he’s got so much confidence in that car. And it’s good for the sport.
"We need it because the Red Bull obviously has an advantage at the moment. We need both of them to be fighting. And I think Max is also like ‘fair play to Checo’.
"He’s done a really good job. So it adds to the title fight, we need it this season. So come on Checo!"
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