Sergio Perez of Mexico and Oracle Red Bull Racing and Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain and Mercedes attend the press conference during previews - Source: Getty
Former Red Bull driver Sergio Perez produced one of the best defensive drives against Lewis Hamilton during the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, which earned him the nickname of "Minister of Defence". The Mexican driver played a key role in helping his then-teammate Max Verstappen claim his first driver's World Championship against the British F1 legend.
Perez's defensive drive in the season-finale at the Yas Marina Circuit was arguably the most vital one, given the circumstances. Both Hamilton and Verstappen had done their pitstops, but the former had an advantage of seven seconds on his title rival.
Sergio Perez, who had not pitted, couldn't prevent Lewis Hamilton from making an initial overtake after the first DRS zone. But to the surprise of the Mercedes driver and everyone else, Perez fought back and repassed Hamilton at the end of Turn 9.
