After F1 Lost 650,000 Fans, Renowned F1 Champion Blames Sergio Perez For It

Sabyasachi Biswas | 18/10/2023
After F1 Lost 650,000 Fans, Renowned F1 Champion Blames Sergio Perez For It

With Red Bull and Max Verstappen dominating F1 currently, reports say that F1 lost around 650,000 fans in the United States and around the world. However, former F1 champion Nico Rosberg, as per F1 Maximal, believes it is Sergio Perez who is to be blamed for making the season boring and therefore making fans lose interest.

Red Bull and Verstappen have been dominant in 2022 and 2023. After thrashing the opposition last year by claiming 17 wins out of 22 races, this season saw the Austrian team claim 15 back-to-back wins which started from the 2022 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and lasted till the 2023 Italian Grand Prix.

As for Verstappen, he took 15 wins in 2022 and is just one win away from matching it in 2023. He also took ten back-to-back race wins and therefore broke the long-standing record of Sebastian Vettel from 2013. Due to this, fans got bored of seeing the same man and team get on the top step of the podium and eventually lost interest. However, Rosberg believes Perez deserves the blame for this.

Why did Nico Rosberg blame Sergio Perez for it?

Verstappen and Perez both drive the mighty RB-19. While the Dutchman has ripped the opposition apart, the Mexican driver failed to follow suit. The former Force India driver took two wins compared to Verstappen’s 14 so far.

This led to fans witnessing one-sided supremacy from the 26-year-old. Perez offered very little resistance to Verstappen, which made the races very boring. Hence, Rosberg is of the opinion that it is Perez’s fault, that so many people have stopped watching F1.

Furthermore, the fans too, blame the Guadalajara-born driver for this. Talking about it, Rosberg said to Sky Sports, as per F1 Maximal, “The Formula 1 fans looked to him for a bit of excitement. He disappointed the fans in a way. Because he made it too easy for Verstappen.”

Can Red Bull sack Perez?

As things stand, Red Bull has recently given an ultimatum to Sergio Perez. The team said that if the driver fails to keep his P2 position by the end of the season, they will not keep him alongside Max Verstappen in 2024.

Despite winning multiple constructors’ and driver’s titles, Red Bull never had a 1-2 finish in the championship in their history. After losing out on this to Charles Leclerc narrowly in 2022, the Milton-Keynes based team don’t want to slip up again.

If Perez fails to keep his place, just in case, there are multiple options on the line for Red Bull. Daniel Ricciardo is the firm favorite driver to take the position. However, AlphaTauri stars Yuki Tsunoda and Liam Lawson’s name also came forward at times.

Post Edited By: Somin Bhattacharjee
Max Verstappen Nico Rosberg Sergio Perez

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Sabyasachi Biswas

Sabyasachi Biswas is an F1 journalist at The SportsRush. With over one and a half decades of love for the sport and five years of experience in the field, he dreams to be a regular at the paddock when the lights go out. A Red Bull fan and F1 fan in general over the years, he enjoyed watching Felipe Massa, Sebastian Vettel, and Max Verstappen dominate the track. Apart from F1, he's also a big-time Madridista and Federer fanatic. He was a sub-junior level footballer, won inter-district quizzes and debate competitions back in school. A travel freak throughout, he tries different cuisines and learns new cultures whenever he's away from the keyboard.

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