Red Bull Faces Crisis as Pérez Struggles

Red Bull grapples with Pérez’s form woes as Button and Hill spotlight the performance issues.

Sergio Pérez’s performances have unanimously disappointed, unfortunately for the Mexican. Jenson Button noted that the Red Bull driver’s catastrophic race was not helped by his strategy. Even if Pérez’s future races are less dire, particularly against Max Verstappen, the 2009 World Champion believes Red Bull cannot let this situation persist.

“It’s a major problem. It was a terrible weekend. He was also unlucky. It won’t happen every weekend,” Button told Sky Sports. “They are behind. Pérez needs to at least score points, even if he’s not finishing right behind Max.”

“They can’t let things continue indefinitely. If he doesn’t score again in the next race, they’ll soon have to pull him from the car and put someone else in. It’s not a good feeling for a driver. It’s tough. For a driver, it’s horrible, but for them, the World Constructors’ Championship is important.”

Damon Hill joined his compatriot in critically assessing Pérez’s situation, particularly against Verstappen and in terms of the RB20’s level: “He has the best Formula One car aside from the McLaren, but he’s unable to keep up with Max Verstappen’s pace.”

“This means there are generally four to five grid positions between Verstappen and Pérez. It’s really disastrous for Red Bull if they want to score maximum points, and even more so if they want him on Verstappen’s tail. But he simply can’t come close to matching his speed.”