F1
Red Bull putting pressure on Sergio Pérez: “Formula 1 is about results”
The Mexican is treading a tightrope and his seat is in danger. Horner, the team director, warned, “There will come a time when decisions have to be made.”
If last season was tough for Sergio Pérez, this one is turning out to be just as fraught. The Mexican has been slowly fading since the season started. His start to the campaign was decent enough, although his teammate’s victories took some of the limelight from his performances. But now facing the final stretch of the year, the Red Bull driver’s position is light years away from what the team expects.
After his homecoming GP, at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, Pérez occupies eighth position in the Drivers’ World Championship, a world away from Max Verstappen. The Dutchman leads the table 212 points ahead of the Mexican, who only has 150 with four races left until the end of the year (two of them will be sprint weekends). And, in fact, its performance decline is also compounded by that of the car, which has made the brand now third in a Constructors’ Championship that Ferrari and McLaren are fighting tooth and nail for.
Horner threat
That’s why Checo Pérez is back in the spotlight. The truth is that he has always been the target of Helmut Marko, Red Bull’s advisor, but his lack of results is now so evident that even Red Bull director Christian Horner has assured that he will not take long to take action if this continues. In other words, his seat is in danger, although the brand itself announced last June the renewal of the Mexican’s contract until 2026.
Then, Carlos Sainz’s door to the team was completely closed. However, the sudden departure of Daniel Ricciardo after Singapore makes it clear that Red Bull is not taking it as a joke and, if there are no results, there is no choice but to act. Liam Lawson also knows this well - he is occupying the Australian’s seat at Visa Cash App and who, in view of Pérez’s slump, can see an opportunity to continue to rise within the team.
Although his performance last weekend, with the Mexican in particular, may have left a little to be desired, as he erred on the side of excessive optimism. Perez finished 17th after a battle with the rookie in which they came close to making contact.
Incidents aside, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner spoke to reporters about his driver’s weekend, without confirming whether the Mexican’s seat is secured for next season: “Checo had a horrible weekend, nothing has gone well for him. He knows that F1 is a results-based business and inevitably when you’re not performing the spotlight is firmly on you. There’s always going to be scrutiny in that regard. We need both cars to score points.”
And Horner warned that he may have to make tough decisions if he doesn’t see a reaction on the track: “There comes a time when you have to make tough decisions. Right now, we’re third. Our goal is to get back to a position where we can win, but it will be a difficult task in the next four races (Brazil with a sprint, Las Vegas, Qatar in the sprint and Abu Dhabi).
“From the team’s point of view, we’re working with Checo as much as we can to support him. I think we’ve done everything we can to support him and we’re going to continue doing so in Brazil next weekend,” the director concluded, without getting further involved in what may happen in the coming weeks.