During the 2023 season, Perez found it difficult to stay up with his teammate and ended up with less than half of Verstappen’s point total (285 vs. 575).

With Daniel Ricciardo returning to the sport with their sister team, RB, the Mexican was under more scrutiny over his future with the organization.

However, Perez has continuously shown his value in one area—the streets.

Even though he only managed two victories in the previous year, they both occurred at street circuits in Baku and Jeddah. Furthermore, Singapore, a street track, was the only other circuit where Verstappen was unable to win in 2023.

And with Formula One about to return to Jeddah this next weekend, Perez might be hoping to show off his strength as King of the Streets.

Granted, Verstappen had a problem during qualifying the previous year, which resulted in him starting in position 15 for lights out; but, this does not detract from Perez’s abilities on the swift streets of Saudi Arabia.

Reasons why Max Verstappen might not triumph in the Saudi Grand Prix
Although it would be crazy to wager on the Red Bull star right now, Verstappen acknowledged in his own words that street circuits did not work in his favor during the previous season.

When asked what the team needed to work on, he told Autosport, “I think just street circuits and low-speed kerbing, mostly.” “I don’t think we are the best right now, these kinds of things.”

Perez, on the other hand, is certain that his success on a street layout is primarily down to his driving prowess.