Red Bull’s Marko underscores the critical pressure on Sergio Perez as team performance hinges on his success.
Immense pressure mounts on Sergio Perez to immediately elevate his performance amidst swirling rumours that Red Bull might terminate his new contract, or even sideline him during the summer break.
Having needed to shake off a post-contract slump, the Mexican driver spun out in Q1 at Silverstone, starting a lowly 19th.
When asked about Perez’s qualifying error, Red Bull F1 consultant Dr. Helmut Marko remarked, “One might excuse it as he was the first to switch to slick tyres. The car is unpredictable.”
“But it certainly doesn’t help him emerge from this slump.”
Former F1 driver and Servus TV consultant Christijan Albers then told Marko that re-signing Perez for two years was “absolutely senseless.”
“You don’t hire someone at the worst time of their career for a reason like that. I think he’s out of excuses. Everyone goes off track occasionally – even Max. But the lap times have to be there. And they’re not.”
Marko acknowledges that Perez is currently not fulfilling his role at Red Bull Racing.
“Every bonus paid to employees depends on the team’s standing in the constructors’ championship. Checo is under pressure. You can see it in all his actions at the moment. Since he secured the new contract, there have been a few poor races. Of course, his contract includes performance clauses and no one is exempt.”
This significant mistake comes amid fresh rumours that Daniel Ricciardo might soon replace Perez, or directly Liam Lawson, who will have a “filming day” in Perez’s car next week at Silverstone, followed by a full day in an RB18 at the end of July in Italy.
When asked about rumours of replacing Perez, Ricciardo stressed that he never tries to make predictions about Red Bull and its driver management.
Liam Lawson has declined to answer journalists’ questions since there isn’t an official media session scheduled for him by the team this weekend.
Verstappen discusses his teammate’s situation
Max Verstappen was not free from criticism yesterday after he too went off in Q1 into the gravel. However, the Dutchman managed to get his car back on track, despite significant damage to the undertray.
The Red Bull driver was asked about this troubling situation for his team in recent races, which makes Red Bull seem like a one-driver team…
“Naturally, of course, you always want two cars in the fight, but honestly, what happened, it was just bad luck. On Friday, when he jumped into the car in FP2 (after Hadjar), he looked sharp. So it’s a bit unfair to say he was off pace this weekend or anything like that.”
“I felt good in FP2, he looked good. In qualifying, with those conditions, it’s tricky.”
Asked if he feels disadvantaged by battling alone against rival teams, Verstappen replied, “I don’t know, I try not to think about it.”
“At the end of the day, you always have to do things yourself, no one is going to help you in a race or anything.”
“It’s really about drawing on your own strengths and of course, it was really unfortunate to lose Checo in Q1.”
“From my side, this Sunday is a new day where we first have to wait and see what the weather will do.”
“But I’m confident, we can be in the mix. I’m not saying we’ll be the fastest, but at least when we’re in the mix, there’s always something possible.”
- You may also like>Ferrari Halts Upgrades at Silverstone: A Brief Pause?
- Following us on>Facebook and>Twitter
Perez Under Scrutiny, Performance Clauses in Focus. Perez Under Scrutiny, Performance Clauses in Focus
