What must Pierre Gasly and Alex Albon have been thinking on their summer vacation? Perhaps the Formula 1 drivers sat on one of their boats in the sun, sighed wistfully and said to themselves: “Now we should be Red Bull drivers.”
The news that Sergio Perez will be allowed to keep his cockpit at the world champion racing team alongside Max Verstappen, despite some abysmal performances, came as a surprise.
F1 observers across the country had expected the Mexican to be thrown out after the Belgian GP. Perez had also driven too weakly in his supposed “final” in Spa-Francorchamps, and was once again hopelessly lagging behind Verstappen and the top drivers.
However, team boss Christian Horner and Bullen eminence Helmut Marko did not give the thumbs down. Perez is allowed to stay. This means that Red Bull is abandoning its once feared performance principle.
For Gasly (2019) and Albon (2020), different standards applied. The then young drivers had to vacate their cockpits after a short time because they could not stand up to team dominator Verstappen.
In a historical comparison with Perez, one must ask after Horner and Marko’s pardon: Why exactly?
Because: Perez hasn’t been able to beat Verstappen for years. What’s more: Checo – who was completely off track in many qualifying sessions last year – is driving worse this season than ever since he joined Red Bull in 2021. In the battle for the Constructors’ World Championship against McLaren, Perez is now a points and therefore safety risk for Red Bull.
Formula 1: Red Bull’s alternatives to Perez not so great either
While McLaren has two fast drivers in Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri who push each other and consistently score points, Red Bull is more or less dependent on Verstappen. The numbers speak for themselves: the Dutchman has 277 points, while Perez has only collected 131 points. Seventh place in the drivers’ championship. Far below Red Bull’s expectations.
Somehow it seems as if Perez can drive as slowly as he likes, and score as little as he likes, and his place is secure. OK, the 34-year-old is now a loyal number two. But Perez is clearly too slow for the top spot. A good but lame second car – is that really the spirit that Red Bull wants?
The fact that the team is sticking with Perez is also an admission. The in-house alternatives are not all that great. Horner and Marko did not want to bring up Daniel Ricciardo, who has been almost unrecognisable since his time at McLaren, from the junior team Racing Bulls. And they certainly did not want to bring up the faster but error-prone Yuki Tsunoda.
And the bosses didn’t want to subject the young reserve driver Liam Lawson to the same scourge as Verstappen’s stablemate. The young New Zealander has to remain in the second row and watch the “old masters” Perez and Ricciardo. Youth research? That is also a thing of the past at Red Bull.
Martin Armbruster
Source: www.sport.de
