At the start of the 2023 season, the two ‘Bulls’ of Red Bull, Sergio Perez and Max Verstappen, locked horns against each other and fought each other closely. However, Perez soon fell and could never get back up to match the performances of his teammate. As such, it looks like Perez taking the fight to Verstappen was not the smartest move to make.
Having paled in comparison to the performances of the Dutchman, Perez faces major scrutiny. Clouds of doubt have also cast a shadow over his future as he hopes to secure P2 in the driver’s standings. Given the stark drop in performances by Perez, four-time world champ Alain Prost reveals the critical mistake made by him during the season, as reported by De Telegraaf (further translated by DeepL).
“Towards the Monaco Grand Prix in May, I read stories that their rivalry was being compared to Senna’s and mine. That was a huge mistake, it gives so much pressure. At a time like that it’s better not to say anything at all and just make the best of it on the track.”
Prost added he believes that any driver who joins Red Bull needs to realize they will be the second driver on the team. As Perez continues to struggle in a troublesome climate in Red Bull, Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton pitched in with his words to claim the Mexican is struggling more because of the lack of support by his team.
Hamilton believes Sergio Perez is not receiving enough support from Red Bull
Ahead of the Mexico City GP, Hamilton called out Red Bull for not lending enough support to Perez despite the driver struggling to find his form. The Briton mentioned it was “one of those particular team spokespersons” that have been key in Perez struggling mentally more than physically. While he did not name any person, the belief is that the statement was a dig at Helmut Marko for his racist remarks aimed towards the Mexican driver.
Hamilton added he would face the same pressure had Toto Wolff said similar things about him to provide further credibility to his statement. Given the treatment of Perez by Verstappen and Red Bull, Mexican fans are extremely unhappy with the team, and they were subject to a hostile environment when racing reached Austin. In view of the same, Perez called for support from the Mexican crowd for the whole Oracle Red Bull Racing team, and not just him. He added the fans should cheer for Verstappen, too, instead of jeering at him the way they did in Austin.
