Is that it for Sergio Perez at Red Bull? On Monday, the Mexican has to report to his bosses at the team factory in Milton Keynes. After the Belgian Grand Prix on Sunday, it is clear: the talks about his future remain a crisis summit!
Starting from second place, Perez only finished eighth in Spa, and thus last among the drivers of the four top teams – although he subsequently moved up to seventh place due to the disqualification of winner George Russell. By comparison: his team-mate Max Verstappen only started eleventh on Sunday, but was waved off in fifth place and classified fourth.
Red Bull’s motorsport advisor Helmut Marko seems to be at his wits’ end after Perez’s next disappointing performance: “Sergio had the opportunity to achieve a good result from second place. Unfortunately, that was not the case. He completely collapsed in the last stint in particular, where he drove times of 1:48,” said Marko soberly on “ServusTV”.
“What looked so positive in qualifying unfortunately did not come true in the race,” says the Austrian. But what does that mean specifically for the upcoming summit on Monday? “Our situation is such that we will also go through the overall situation for 2025. We have a number of drivers and the fact that we have a concept,” says Marko, indicating that Red Bull is now looking for alternatives.
Looking at Perez and the great pressure the Mexican is under, he adds: “But of course every result is (important) for Sergio and eighth place from second place on the grid is certainly not what we expected.”
Perez: “Don’t waste energy on speculation”
Perez himself was accordingly fed up after crossing the finish line: “It was a very disappointing race. It started well, but I had big problems on the straights, no idea what was going on,” said the Mexican, who also complained several times on the radio during the race about the car’s lack of top speed: “I had to save battery very early on and was simply very weak on the straights.”
However, they managed to get the difficulties under control and were able to keep up with Hamilton and Leclerc, said Perez, “but the second stint, after switching to the medium tires, and with all the traffic, just made it very difficult.” The team then shortened the stint, “but that threw us off rhythm,” complained the 34-year-old: “We just weren’t good with the tires today, the balance wasn’t there either. So there was a lot to analyze.”
From this perspective, Perez also welcomes the timing of the summer break, as there is a lot to work through, including Red Bull’s recent weaker performance: “Mercedes’ pace was very impressive, we couldn’t keep up with Ferrari either, so there is a lot to understand.” Perez assumes that he will still be in the car after the break: “Correct,” says the Mexican in response to this question.
However, he does not want to go into the rumors about his future: “I have already said it before: yesterday I had a good qualifying, a good day. It doesn’t change anything. I think we have too much going on in the team right now and what we have to focus on. We cannot waste our energy on all this speculation,” Perez tries to wipe away the noise surrounding him.
And he makes it clear: “This is the last time I’m talking about the future, just to make it clear to everyone: I will not talk about it anymore, and I will not answer any more questions about the future.”
But maybe Perez doesn’t even have to do that anymore, as his announcement could soon become bitter reality – namely if the Red Bull bosses actually sack him on Monday…
Horner continues to support struggling Perez
Team boss Christian Horner, who is considered a Perez supporter and is still pushing for the Mexican, who is under more than a bit of pressure, does not want to pre-empt the talks on Monday. After the race, Horner repeated what he has been saying for weeks: “The priority is to support Checo and see what he needs. We want him to turn it around and deliver again.”
Regarding a possible end for his protégé, Horner made it clear to press representatives: “Nobody wants to make this decision, only you talk about it every day.” Nevertheless, the team boss also had to admit on Sunday that Perez had once again missed the targets he had set:
Before the race in Spa, Red Bull had calculated on third and fifth place, Horner revealed, without specifying which driver was intended for which position. Now they have to look at where the pace has gone, explains the team boss, who at least attests that Perez’s strategy is not exactly ideal, thus defending his driver somewhat.
Nevertheless, the fluctuations in Perez’s performance, both in terms of the strong start to the season and the drastic slump afterwards, as well as individual race weekends such as in Spa, with the good qualifying and the weak race, remain a mystery for Red Bull: “At least we now have the time to analyse this and work with him,” says Horner.
The evaluation of Perez’s performance has of course been going on for some time: “We are constantly analyzing, always looking at things. We have a meeting tomorrow, but it’s not just about Checo. We also have other items on the agenda before the summer break,” says Horner.
After coming under increasing pressure in the constructors’ championship, it is clear that “we have to turn things around after the break in Zandvoort”. The talks will now have to show whether Perez is still the right driver for this, with Horner also citing the dynamics in the team between Verstappen and Perez.
This plays a significant role: “It’s been a great partnership between the two so far, and Checo is a great team player. That’s why we signed him alongside Max at the end of 2020. He’s won six or seven races for us,” says Horner. In fact, it was five, although the last success was over a year ago – despite the RB19 being so dominant in 2023.
Does the fact that no one is imposing himself save Perez?
Nevertheless, Horner believes: “It was the most successful driver pairing we’ve ever had. But it’s frustrating for everyone that Checo is having such problems because nobody wants that. Everyone wants him to succeed because it hurts to see him in this situation.” Nevertheless, the Briton makes it clear: “The team was and is behind him.”
What Horner doesn’t say, but is just as true, is that none of the replacement candidates for Perez have been able to force their way forward in recent weeks. Daniel Ricciardo has struggled with the strategy several times in recent races and has had difficulty converting his improved performance into tangible results.
Yuki Tsunoda seems to have lost some of his momentum since his contract extension with Racing Bulls, which de facto meant saying no to a promotion to Red Bull. Liam Lawson was allowed to test for Red Bull, but the New Zealander is obviously missing the kilometers as a substitute driver and youngster…
The same applies to Isack Hadjar, who has recently attracted attention in Formula 2 with good performances – which have not gone unnoticed by world champion Max Verstappen: “I see him here and there with the team, he has driven the car a few times and he is doing a great job after having some bad luck at the start of the season,” praises the Dutchman: “Now it is of course up to management to see what they do with him.”
Verstappen: “Our main problem is the car”
However, Verstappen does not want to give his bosses at Red Bull any advice on Sunday for the difficult decision about who will take the cockpit next to him – he is rather annoyed by the noise surrounding Perez: “I think our main problem is the car, that is what we should focus on,” the Dutchman said in reference to the discussion.
Only to then say: “If we look at Checo’s weekend, it was very positive, I would say. Of course, the race… but that just shows that we are having problems with the tires and their lifespan,” he defends his teammate: “That is what we should focus on.”
But it is questionable whether Marko, Horner and Co. see it that way too – if not, it could well be the longest summer break of all time for Sergio Perez…
Source: www.sport.de
