Sergio Perez vs Valtteri Bottas – who was the better number two driver at Red Bull and Mercedes?

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As Sergio Perez continues to struggle for Red Bull and his Formula 1 future is brought under increasing doubt, it begs the question of whether he was better than another number two driver – Valtteri Bottas.

Bottas raced for Mercedes between 2017 and 2021, winning the constructors’ championship in all five of his campaigns with them.

There are a number of variables which go into something like that, such as how dominant they were – but the Finn did prevent Perez from having such a record by beating him in his first season with Red Bull.

Perez has won the constructors’ in two of his three seasons with Red Bull, but it looks set to become two in four as McLaren leads the way with five races to go in the 2024 season.

Mercedes were renowned for having a dominant car, while Red Bull have had to fight the likes of Ferrari and McLaren too – so who was better between Bottas and Perez?

Who took more wins and podiums between Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez?

Starting with one of the more important statistics and a true measure of speed, Bottas claimed 10 victories in five seasons, while Perez has five in four.

That means that Bottas averaged 2 wins per year, and Perez 1.25 – while both were arguably up against the best of their generation in Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen.

Bottas averaged 13.1 points per race across his career with the Silver Arrows, and Perez averages 10.9 with Red Bull.

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So Bottas was more consistent, and had more speed – but may have had an edge in car performance too, leaving one more key component – reliability.

8.9% of Bottas’ Mercedes races ended in retirement, and 9.4% of Perez’s at Red Bull have been cut short too – so it’s a fairly even playing ground there.

Is it fair to say Bottas was better than Perez?

Looking beyond the numbers, Perez played a huge role in helping teammate Verstappen claim his maiden drivers’ championship back in 2021, by holding seven-time champion Hamilton up.

Bottas did his job too though, and won a trophy in every season he spent with the team – a run which Perez cannot match.

Perez hasn’t got close to challenging Verstappen for a title, but nor did Bottas get near Hamilton – such is the challenge of lining up alongside a generational talent.

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Overall though, the numbers indicate that Bottas was a better rear-gunner, performed better, and as some may remember, obeyed his team orders well too (Germany 2018).

Both had their ups and downs, but if you’re assessing them purely from a team game situation – Bottas takes the crown, as Perez looks as if he may lose his seat over a lack of performance and potentially costing his team the 2024 constructors’ championship.