The metric that shows parallels in Verstappen's and Alonso's intra-team dominance

OPINION: Max Verstappen’s current supremacy in Formula 1 extends to his team-mate, having scored enough points to win the world constructors’ title single-handedly in 2023. But how does Sergio Perez stack up compared to other number two drivers and why does the Dutch driver’s dominance have the traits seen in another of his current rivals during their own era on top?

Losing second place to Charles Leclerc at the Las Vegas Grand Prix mattered little to Sergio Perez. When Lewis Hamilton was handed a few setbacks in the Vegas race and only finished seventh, Perez's third place was enough to put Formula 1's 2023 runner-up spot beyond all doubt. Thus, it became the first time that Red Bull had locked out the top two positions in the drivers' championship across its seven drivers' title wins.

Mission complete, right? If one simply looks at the results and nothing more, then sure; Perez did the job that he was hired to do in his unofficial role as Max Verstappen's number two and finished as runner-up in the championship stakes. He achieved that with the best car on the grid, thus netting his expected championship placing, fulfilling his obligations and can consider 2023 a resounding success.

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Author Jake Boxall-Legge

Jake Boxall-Legge Autosport’s Technical Editor. Having studied Automotive Engineering with Motorsport at the University of Hertfordshire, West Country-born Jake's original ambition was to design racing cars. During a year between studies in which he accidentally rekindled a love of writing, he took up a Master's in Motorsport Engineering at Oxford Brookes. Halfway through his master's year, he was offered a place on the Autosport Academy, conducting occasional freelance duties before becoming the press officer for Formula 2 and GP3 in 2018. Autosport offered him a return to the fold later that year to serve as its Technical Editor. His voice appears on a number of videos and podcasts, and can often be found writing about terrible Formula 1 cars in excruciating detail. In his spare time, Jake enjoys baking and blames his failure to make it past the Great British Bake-Off interviews on his tenuous grasp on choux pastry. His dream is to open a brunch cafe - and his willingness to make outrageous puns in inappropriate situations has earned him the contempt of his colleagues.