Martin Brundle very impressed with 33-year-old’s overtaking in Brazil yesterday

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Martin Brundle was delighted to see Red Bull driver Sergio Perez back in form with a fantastic piece of overtaking at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix yesterday.

Brundle and David Croft were covering the race on Sky Sports F1 and Perez had plenty to prove.

His homecoming in Mexico City couldn’t have gone much worse after colliding with Charles Leclerc going into the first corner.

It was deemed a racing incident but the damage done to his Red Bull as he flew through the air meant he was retired after the first lap.

There’s been plenty of talk about his future at the team, with rumours that Fernando Alonso could be looked at quashed last week.

Perez eventually came up against the Spaniard in Brazil and narrowly missed out on a much-needed podium.

However, Perez started ninth yesterday and Brundle was impressed with his overtaking to catch up to the two-time world champion.

His car looked quicker than Alonso’s but the race craft of the 42-year-old was on full show going into the final laps.

Even when he finally got past the Spaniard, he couldn’t quite hold on and the finish line came metres too soon to deny him a place in the top three.

Brundle impressed with Perez overtaking

On lap 18, Perez was approaching the back of Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes and the struggling Brit was powerless to stop his championship rival.

He dived down the inside of the silver car on turn one to take fourth place.

Hamilton tried to fight back but had no chance against the much faster car, and Brundle said: “Welcome back Sergio Perez! We haven’t seen the real Sergio Perez for a while.

“He’s been through some trials and tribulations, but he’s got some lovely command on the brake pedal today.”

Brundle and the rest of the F1 world will be pleased to see Perez getting back to his best and overtaking his close rivals with ease.

Considering the car he’s got at his disposal, he should regularly be challenging at the very front of the grid.

Poor qualifying performances have scuppered his progress too often in 2023 and mistakes on a Saturday need to be cut out next year if he stands a chance of getting anywhere near his teammate.