The Japanese Grand Prix saw a return to the top step of the podium for Max Verstappen after another dominant performance in the RB20.
Despite his DNF in Australia, the Dutchman is still top of the Drivers’ Championship and on his way to a fourth straight title.
However, speaking on the Sky Sports F1 Podcast, former F1 driver and pundit Karun Chandhok reserved praise for another points scorer in Japan.
As is always the case in Formula 1, several key battles are developing up and down the grid.
Lance Stroll’s struggles continue to give the weakest five teams a chance to finish 10 and score a solitary point.
Once again it was Yuki Tsunoda who proved he was the best of the rest, with Nico Hulkenberg also finishing ahead of the Canadian.
McLaren, Mercedes and Aston Martin are all fighting to secure the biggest points tally possible and once again it was Andrea Stella’s team who came out on top even if Oscar Piastri made a late mistake in his battle with Fernando Alonso and George Russell.
Ferrari are attempting to catch Red Bull and Charles Leclerc’s perfect execution of a one-stop strategy and Carlos Sainz’s third podium finish in three races continues to show why he should be driving for a top team next season.
However, the two Red Bull drivers dominated the whole weekend and scored maximum points on Sunday.
Karun Chandhok has also suggested that Sergio Perez had his ‘best’ qualifying in a long time and starred during the Japanese Grand Prix.
The Mexican is fighting for his future with the team but couldn’t do much more in Suzuka.
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Karun Chandhok praises Sergio Perez after the Japanese Grand Prix
Sergio Perez arrived in Japan off the back of a performance in Australia that had some people question whether he was the right man to partner Max Verstappen at Red Bull beyond 2024.
He finished fifth behind both Ferraris and McLarens and Oscar Piastri admitted he couldn’t understand why he was so slow.
Christian Horner suggested he had damage to his car but he still had a point to prove at the weekend.
The main concern for Perez at Red Bull has been his performances in qualifying as he was regularly missing out on Q3 at times last year.
However, Chandhok believes that Perez put in his best Saturday performance for some at the Japanese Grand Prix and put his teammate under serious pressure.
The task for Perez is for him to continue that form into the Chinese Grand Prix and beyond.
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Sergio Perez finally finding his feet in qualifying
Talking about the Mexican in his 265 Grand Prix, Chandhok said: “The reality is [Sergio] Perez seems to have raised his game, his qualifying in Japan was the best I think we’ve seen in a very long time.
“Obviously, Melbourne was the one where he needed to step up on a day where Ma [Verstappen] had an issue and he didn’t.
“So, that’s a negative. But broadly, he’s started this season quite well.
“Now, he did the same last year and we’ll now see if he can carry it on for the rest of the year.
“At the moment, he’s making a pretty good case not to be replaced.”
Sergio Perez finally answered the doubts Christian Horner had about his driving
Sergio Perez’s effort to put his Red Bull on the front row at the Japanese Grand Prix was sensational and fully deserves praise from Chandhok.
The likes of Lando Norris and Charles Leclerc are notoriously quick over one lap and would have fancied their chances of lining up alongside Verstappen.
However, the Monegasque driver had another Q3 to forget and Perez put in a flying lap to pip Norris to second place.
At the end of last season, Christian Horner told Perez that he had to improve his performance in qualifying.
Speaking to Sky Sports F1, he said: “He’s just got to sort his Saturdays out. His race pace is there, his racecraft is fantastic, he’s probably overtaken more cars than anybody this year.
“But we just need him to be starting in the first four rather than ninth or tenth or wherever his average has been over the last few races.”
Perez appears to have implemented those changes and Horner will be delighted that Red Bull now appear to have two cars that can regularly start Grand Prix from the very front.
The post ‘Raised his game’: Karun Chandhok praises 265-race driver after best performance in a ‘very long time’ appeared first on F1 Oversteer.