After the recently concluded Canadian Grand Prix, Sergio Perez has found himself under immense pressure. Once a championship protagonist, Perez is now having his Red Bull seat at risk, credit to his three latest failures.
The Mexican has failed to drive the RB19, which is considered the most dominant car on the grid, to its full potential lately. With the same car, Max Verstappen is annoying people with his back-to-back victories, whereas Perez is barely able to make it to the podiums.
The 33-year-old’s bad run started in Monaco last month after he crashed in Qualification. From there on, he failed to pick up the same pace. Apart from the Principality race, the former Racing Point driver also failed to make it to the podium in Spain and Canada.
In the Barcelona and Montreal race, the Mexican qualified in P11 and P12, and finished the races in P4 and P6, respectively. While he struggled, Verstappen went on to claim all three wins.
Red Bull fires stern warning
After losing out 1-2 finish in driver’s championship to Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc last year, Red Bull’s primary target is to fulfill it this year, and Perez is given the primary objective to hold on to that P2 if he fails to challenge the defending champion.
But, if Checo keeps on dropping points, Fernando Alonso or Lewis Hamilton, who are currently breathing down his neck, are expected to overtake the Mexican anytime soon. And that will certainly not be a good scenario for Perez as his seat might be in jeopardy.
I definitely expected more from this weekend, I think the podium was possible, but it was important to secure the points and not to take more risks.
Now is time to rest a bit and focus everything on Canada.Sin duda esperaba más de este fin de semana, creo que el podio era… pic.twitter.com/5ljhqqdFNg
— Sergio Pérez (@SChecoPerez) June 4, 2023
Speaking about this, and where Perez was struggling, Helmut Marko said, as per Next Gen Auto, “We didn’t perform as well as we should have. We failed to get the tires up to temperature, especially the hard tyre. We failed to get the right temperature.”
“Checo has more problems with that. Everyone thinks the Red Bull is a fantastic car. Yes, it’s a good car. But Ferrari and Mercedes haven’t improved on last year,” further asserted the Red Bull mastermind, who previously guaranteed Checo’s position in the team.
Red Bull boss backs Sergio Perez amidst recent failures
Despite the recent struggles and off-form, Checo Perez is still the man for the Austrian team, believes team principal Christian Horner.
Speaking on the 33-year-old, he said, “I think he needs a good weekend to get his confidence back.” Furthermore, Horner also believes that the Mexican is now relaxing as the championship battle is over.
“He’s had three tough weekends and three tough Saturdays make it harder for you on Sundays. We saw what Checo is capable of just a month or two ago,” further stated the British boss on Sergio Perez.
