The brand that Checo Pérez snatched from Max Verstappen at the Australian GP

The third race of 2022 was held in Formula 1 and Checo Pérez returned to the stand of the top three, after a good race in which he took advantage of Max Verstappen's unexpected abandonment to rise to second place, a result with which he also put his name back in the fight for the World Cup of Pilots, because although he is currently fourth with 30 points, he is only seven away from second place and with one of the most promising cars of the year.

Under this tenor, few expected that after three races the Mexican would be above his teammate, the current world champion Max Verstappen, who has been unfortunate with two abandonments in the first three races and which caused him to lose a spectacular streak compared to any other teammate.

The great mark that the Mexican snatched from him at the Australian Grand Prix was the 72 consecutive races that Verstappen accumulated without being under his teammate in the World Drivers' World Cup, something that finally happened this weekend in Melbourne with Checo's second place (18 points) and the abandonment of Max.

The last time Max was down in the Drivers' World Championship was in the middle of the 2018 season, specifically after the Hungarian Grand Prix, when Daniel Ricciardo beat him by 13 points after a retreat.

Almost four years passed without the interruption of Verstappen's powerful streak, although at the end of that season, the Dutchman finished well above his teammate and finished fourth in the standings.

This means that, since his debut in Formula 1, he has only been under one teammate in 54 races out of 143 he has competed, a very low percentage for a young driver, with Daniel Ricciardo as his biggest “executioner” between 2016 and 2018, with 47 Grand Prix behind the 62 races played.

This also results in Daniil Kvyat, Pierre Gasly and Alexander Albon not being able to beat the Dutchman in points, a challenge that will now fall to Sergio Pérez, with 20 races ahead throughout 2022.

This moment was experienced in a very special way in Mexico, as a fan club in the capital gathered more than 200 people to see their podium in the Australian GP , an unprecedented event close to the world of motorsport and a sign of the Czechomania that shakes Mexico, especially after its arrival in Red Bull.

In that event, the spectacular overruns of the jaliscian provoked the euphoria of the fans present, who shouted and waved their flags, while cheers and songs of encouragement began.

The fight against Lewis Hamilton starred in the most joyous moments at the show, where fans were satisfied with the Mexican's performance, because despite not winning and seeing Verstappen's abandonment, Checo Pérez's second place in Australia confirmed that he will fight for the Drivers' Championship.

In the end, the event driven by Sergio's brand new fan club was a resounding success, as they saw Checo defeat Hamilton on the track again, get on the podium and give their fans more reason to get excited about their season, as the goal is to listen to the anthem of Mexico several times during 2022 and see the tricolor flag at the top.

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