Hakkinen Critiques Perez's Performance at Red Bull

Mika Hakkinen claims Sergio Perez isn’t performing up to Red Bull’s high standards, posing a development challenge.

Sergio Perez has failed at Red Bull according to two-time F1 World Champion Mika Hakkinen.

The Mexican, retained by the team with a new contract signed in June following discussions before the summer break, is no longer up to the task, in the Finn’s view.

Although Hakkinen finds it “unpleasant” to criticize another Formula 1 driver, he believes Perez is the element preventing the Austrian team from advancing, especially as performance difficulties become increasingly acute.

“Formula 1 is a very cruel sport, and there are two drivers in a team who are naturally competing against each other before they start competing with others.”

“In this case, the gap between Sergio and Max has continued to grow. This means you don’t get the best data, you don’t get information from both cars to be able to develop the car as quickly as needed.”

“This has been a real drawback for Red Bull’s team development, and it’s a challenge.”

“I try to avoid criticizing but I just want to tell you the facts – you need two drivers fully engaged so that the team can compare data and make various adjustments to what they do aerodynamically or mechanically on the car.”

“You have to constantly compare, and during a race weekend, time is quite short. One car is not enough to move the team forward. You need two cars, you need two drivers.”

“Sergio has not been able to provide this to the Red Bull team. This has influenced the current lack of success, it has been a very negative thing.”

Is it time, according to Hakkinen, for Perez, now in his 14th season, to make way for someone else? Probably…

“Sergio has been in Formula 1 for a long time. It’s not his first or second year. He’s been around for a long time.”

“He’s had the chance to study himself, to understand himself, to know what he needs to be number one, and he hasn’t been able to do it.”

“I don’t mean to say he doesn’t have the talent for driving. But I think all the other parameters do not argue in his favor, to reach a level where he must match Max and provide the performance that the team asks of him in order to build a winning team.”