The Red Bull teams are infamous for sacking or demoting their drivers prematurely if they fail to perform up to expectations. Daniil Kvyat, Nyck de Vries, Daniel Ricciardo and the list goes on. However, a stat compared Sergio Perez‘s performance to his predecessors Alex Albon and Pierre Gasly, revealed a supposed bias in favor of the Mexican.
Perez hasn’t been anywhere near the podium since the Chinese GP and failed to make it into the top five in the last 12 races. Perez’s consistently disappointing performance has cost Red Bull the lead in the constructors’ championship with McLaren running away with it. Many expected the #11 driver to get sacked after all these poor performances.
Perez’s last 12 Grands Prix compared to his predecessors last races before they were sacked
byu/Yordrecht informula1
Amid all this, a Reddit user posted a relevant stat on the social media platform comparing Perez’s performances to Albon and Gasly’s performance in their last 12 races for Red Bull. The Thai-British driver scored 69 points with Gasly scoring 61 points. However, Perez has only managed 39 points in the last 12 races for Red Bull.
Regardless, the Mexican was unlucky at the Azerbaijan GP to crash out of the podium position after tangling with Sainz. But even if that result is considered and added to the tally, Perez only gets up to 51 points, which is still less than Gasly and Albon’s total.
Many fans were enraged when Ricciardo was sacked after the Singapore GP whereas Perez has retained his seat, despite the poor form persisting. Some suspected that following Ricciardo’s exit, the same is to be expected for Perez as well. However, the Mexican stated that he would be with the team until the end of the season.
The dilemma about Perez’s Red Bull seat
Red Bull had an internal meeting after the Belgian GP during the summer break to decide on Perez’s Red Bull future. Ricciardo was reportedly going to be Perez’s replacement as rumors of the Mexican being sacked spread across the paddock. However, Perez managed to keep his seat.
Later, the team came out and explained how Perez told them about the problem with the car, but they ignored him. Red Bull promised to help the 34-year-old get the best out of the car by extending support and guaranteeing him a drive until the end of the season.
According to the reports, Red Bull’s decision is believed to have been swayed by the F1 owners Liberty Media, who were concerned about the revenues for the Mexican GP. Others suggested that Perez’s sponsors put pressure on Red Bull and threatened to leave. It was reported that the sponsors were ready to cover the financial losses in case Red Bull lost the constructors’ title.
Regardless, Lawson has reportedly been brought in for the last six races to see if he can be a capable replacement for the Mexican.
