Verstappen’s Dominance Threatens Perez’s F1 Championship Dreams

After securing his fourth win for Red Bull in Jeddah and declaring his intention to compete for the Formula 1 world championship, Sergio Perez faced a daunting challenge in Melbourne. Despite modifications made to the car, including changing the brake friction material, Perez struggled to keep up with teammate Max Verstappen and was plagued by technical issues during the final practice session and qualifying.

The declaration by Sergio Perez that he was fully prepared to compete for the Formula 1 world championship and that Red Bull was committed to giving him -Checo- “every possible chance” to do so, marked the start of the Australian Grand Prix weekend.

The timing was appropriate, as Perez had just secured his fourth win for Red Bull in Jeddah, a triumph that was arguably his strongest performance in Red Bull attire as he took advantage of his 14-place advantage over teammate Max Verstappen and steadily kept a small lead over Verstappen once he moved into second place.

Skepticism was expressed when Perez made his statement on Thursday in Melbourne, and the naysayers were partially vindicated by Perez’s disastrous Saturday. His multiple errors during the final practice session, where setting a competitive lap time proved challenging, ultimately resulted in a crash just five minutes into the first segment of qualifying.

Sergio Perez reported a technical issue after the qualifying session of the Australian Grand Prix. Despite attempting to resolve the issue, he indicated that it was not fully fixed. During the qualifying, Perez experienced difficulties with the brakes, feeling as if he had no control. The issue caused a significant shift in the brake balance forward, making it hard for Perez to drive. He expressed hope that the team would be able to address the problem and minimize its impact on the race.

Prior to the race, the team implemented changes, one of which was the replacement of the brake friction material, in an attempt to resolve the issue that was causing Perez difficulty in stopping the car. Perez expressed confidence in the team’s efforts, saying “we made progress and changed several things on the car, so I am hopeful it will greatly improve our performance.”

Despite the changes, Perez went off track at Turn 1 on the final restart, which would have been disastrous if not for the red flag and the reset of the order. Throughout the race, he didn’t seem to be able to tap into the power of the RB19 with the same ease as Verstappen. Furthermore, there appeared to be a persistent disconnect between the team and the driver regarding the cause of the Saturday’s issues.

Team principal Christian Horner did not acknowledge the existence of a problem after qualifying and stated that the team would conduct further investigations. This remained the case 24 hours later, even after Perez had made a strong comeback from the pit lane to finish in fifth place and earn an extra point for the fastest lap.

“I think he had a rough FP3, which was far from the ideal preparation, and he was pushing hard on that first lap and was late and aggressive with the brakes into T3,” Horner stated after the race. “There were certain factors that, when combined, were not quite right, but these cars are often not perfect.”

When asked about Perez’s comment regarding the “something that is moving the brake balance quite far forward under braking,” Horner responded, “that’s a component they control in the car.” He also dismissed claims that the engine running issues (when the throttle is activated even when the driver is not pressing the pedal through turns) experienced in FP3 were repeated in qualifying, stating that the levels “were nothing out of the ordinary.”

According to Ken Kiz, the cool weather conditions during Friday’s practice in Melbourne posed a challenge for the Red Bull team. The Red Bull car has a unique suspension design, which doesn’t dive or pitch, to achieve the desired aerodynamic platform. However, this design resulted in a slower heating process for the front tires, making it difficult for the team to perform well during the qualifying round.

According to Ken, the design of the Red Bull presents a disadvantage in terms of tire temperature, as it takes longer for the front tires to reach their optimal temperature. This can lead to brake lock tendencies when the track is cooler than expected and the tire compounds used are not particularly soft for the type of track. Additionally, Friday’s practice session in Melbourne was hampered by engine issues where the throttle would still be active while turning, which only added to the challenges faced by the team.”

According to Ken, if a driver is aware of the challenges and performs at their best, they may be able to handle the factors without anyone else noticing. However, it’s unclear whether the other driver is struggling or not. There may be an issue, but it’s not yet certain and currently, it seems to be affecting Perez.

Perez’s deficit of 14 points to Verstappen widens the lead in the drivers’ championship to 15, but it’s the unclear circumstances surrounding the loss of points, rather than the actual number of points lost, that are concerning. After all, a technical failure for Verstappen in Baku could easily switch those positions. The lack of clarity about the root cause and the disconnect between Red Bull and Perez’s explanations do not alleviate worries about a repeat of these issues.

Given Verstappen’s consistent high level of performance, Perez cannot afford more weekends like Melbourne if he hopes to have any chance of winning the championship, which was already considered a long shot by many before this weekend. Verstappen is already a tough competitor, and Perez’s confusing Saturdays, which forced him to focus on minimizing damage rather than making a strong impression, only make it harder for him to compete.

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