Sergio Perez seems to have recovered his confidence at Red Bull. Having almost lost his seat during the summer break, he’s now offering his supporters cause for optimism. Perez started the season in solid fashion. While he couldn’t get close to Max Verstappen, he delivered three second-place finishes and four podiums in the first five races, as well as two front-row lockouts. But then Red Bull’s rivals made rather sudden gains. Where previously he could afford to be considerably slower than Verstappen and still finish P2, he was now bumped down the order. From Imola until Silverstone, Perez’s …