Perez’s father compares battle with Verstappen to legendary Senna-Prost rivalry

With Red Bull a dominant force in F1 2023, Verstappen and Perez are the only realistic contenders for this year’s championship.

Only 14 points separate the pair after the opening five rounds of the season.

Verstappen has three wins, while Perez has started the year strongly with two victories.

With the Monaco Grand Prix up next, a track Verstappen has historically not performed well at, Perez has an ideal opportunity to close the gap in the standings.

Their duel has been compared to the iconic Senna versus Prost duels.

Senna and Prost dominated the sport in the late 1980s with McLaren, with the pair infamously coming to blows on a number of occasions.

Antonio Perez believes history is repeating itself at Red Bull with a new rivalry.

“You have to remember when McLaren had Senna and Prost," Perez told Mexican outlet Esto.

“This is the same thing. Today we are living it again. They are two tigers in the same cage. They both think the same, have the same breakfast, eat the same.

“You see they both try to take fastest lap from one another. In qualifying they want the pole; they want to be fastest in practice.”

Perez is sure his son has what it takes to become F1 world champion.

“[Verstappen is] more settled in,” Antonio Perez added. "You have to remember how long Max had been with the team. Checo can now walk at Max's pace. I still feel that between Max and Checo there are a few thousandths in favour of Max, and in the difficult tracks I see them very even.

“Every morning, [Checo] knows that he is in a team that is in first place and that second is the first loser.

“[Before Red Bull], when he finished 10th, it was amazing, but if Checo had had this opportunity from the beginning as other young drivers have had, he would already be World Champion several times, I have no doubt. And I believe we will have Checo Perez here for the next 10 years and I see him as World Champion."