F1
Red Bull leave Checo Pérez unprotected
Despite Christian Horner’s comments, Pérez did not have the same upgrades to his car as Verstappen did in Austin.
The Mexico City Grand Prix takes place this week but expectations for Sergio Pérez are low. What we saw in the United States at the weekend suggests that ‘Checo’ will struggle to get a place on the podium at the Hermanos Rodriguez. Red Bull is not going through its best moment and in Austin the explanations given by the driver and the team contradicted each other.
Verstappen’s car upgraded
Formula 1 returned to action in Austin after a three-week break. That time was used by the teams to make improvements to their cars for the final stretch of the 2024 season. At Red Bull, they carried out these upgrades on the floor, however, the upgrades came only from Max Verstappen’s side, as revealed by Sergio Pérez.
The contradictions at Red Bull came to the fore on Saturday. Before the sprint race, where ‘Checo’ was ninth, Christian Horner was quick to assure that both Verstappen and Pérez had the updates that the team brought to the United States. “Both cars have the developments” said Horner to Fox Sports Mexico.
Out on the tarmac however, the difference between Max Verstappen’s car and Sergio Pérez’s was noticeable. Verstappen had the improved floor and ‘Checo’ did not, information that the Mexican driver himself revealed after the qualifying session in which he finished 10th.
“We made a lot of changes that will undoubtedly help tomorrow (Sunday) and no, I don’t have the same improvement as Max, we see it a lot in fast corners, which there is a lot of that here and well, in the end the car is working well, I think we have made progress and with the adjustments we made everything was more positive” he told Fox Sports.
Uncertain outlook for the Mexican GP
Finally, ‘Checo’ managed to salvage some points in the United States race by finishing seventh. The Mexican lacked pace and continued to struggle with his RB20. As for what will happen in the Mexican Grand Prix, expectations are not high, as Pérez himself does not know if the update will arrive this weekend.
“I don’t know if I’ll have the same level as Max. The team is still learning. Tomorrow (Monday) or Tuesday we’ll have more information about what we can have,” he explained.
Sergio Pérez’s homecoming race will be held this Sunday in front of a packed Hermanos Rodríguez stadium.
The main race will be held on Sunday, October 27, at 3:00 p.m. ET / 12:00 p.m. PT, with qualifying on Saturday, October 26, starting at 4:00 p.m. ET / 1:00 p.m PT. In the US, fans can catch all the action live on ESPN or through F1 TV Pro, depending on their subscription services.