“Driver of the season” Verstappen has no obvious weakness - Perez

Verstappen holds a six-point lead over title rival Lewis Hamilton in the battle for this year’s world championship heading into the final six races of the year, having taken seven wins from the opening 16 rounds. 

The Dutchman’s consistent delivery and ability to avoid making mistakes so far this year puts him ahead of his rivals, according to Perez. 

“I think Max has been the driver of the season, to be honest, so far,” Perez said. 

“I think he has done the least mistakes of anyone out there. He’s put things together at a very high level.

“The season is still very long so we’ll see later on, so far I have been surprised in a very positive way on how he delivers without mistakes at such a high level.” 

Asked if Verstappen has any weaknesses, Perez replied: “I’ll have to think about it, but I don’t really think there are. Not obvious ones, yet.”

Perez scored just his third podium since joining Red Bull - and his first rostrum appearance since Paul Ricard in June - last time out at the Turkish Grand Prix. 

The Mexican has struggled to adapt to Red Bull’s RB16B, a car he says Verstappen, in contrast, is “at one with”. 

“Obviously it’s not easy being Max’s teammate because he’s at one with the car,” Perez explained. “He’s really delivering at a very high level.”

“We’ve got a unique car in a way and it hasn’t been easy. You need to be mentally very strong after each day and I think that’s one of my strengths, to take the most out of it and try to get the maximum out of every Sunday.

“It’s something very different to what I was used to,” Perez added. “Some cars are easier to adapt to than others, some drivers adapt easier to others.

“I had a difficult process to adapt to the car but nothing too dramatic or nothing that stands out. It’s obviously a very good package and a very competitive one. 

“Max is showing that this car is, if not the best, one of the best out there.”