Amidst Daniel Ricciardo Comeback Rumors, Max Verstappen Is Saving Sergio Perez From Getting Fired

When compared to Max Verstappen, Sergio Perez is lately nowhere near his teammate in performances with the undefeated RB19. Therefore, with Daniel Ricciardo being available to the Milton-Keynes-based outfit, rumors of him replacing the Mexican have been developed. However, a BBC expert claims that Verstappen is preventing Perez from getting sacked.

In the 10 race starts this season, Verstappen has won eight races, with the other two won by his teammate. Thus, keeping Red Bull undefeated this season, and if given a look at the points table, Verstappen single-handedly can make Red Bull win the constructors’ championship comfortably.

Therefore, there isn’t much for Red Bull to ponder over other issues as the ultimate objectives of the season are being met easily. So, the immediate problem for the team is not Perez.

Max Verstappen is saving Sergio Perez

Perez on Sunday finished the race on P6 after starting from P15. Not something Red Bull would be proud of, seeing how dominant the car is this season. But somehow, Verstappen’s hegemony is safeguarding the 33-year-old driver against Ricciardo’s interest.

“I don’t think Red Bull mind too much,” said Harry Benjamin on BBC’s Chequered Flag podcast. “I saw Dr. Helmut Marko smiling away and having a laugh with Sergio Perez after qualifying.”

Benjamin further adds until Verstappen is in a league of his own and since there is no significant threat from others, there is nothing to worry about and let Perez continue. Plus, Marko also believes there is no one else in the pipeline.

For Helmut Marko, there is no one else

Marko recently commented on Perez’s situation. There is no doubt that Perez’s performances are not up to the mark, but the Red Bull chief claims there is no one else in the pipeline as of now to replace the driver with six Grand Prix wins.

On the other hand, he highlighted that Nyck de Vries is the one who is in trouble now, as the underwhelming performances by the Dutchman are making him lose the Alphtauri seat. So, probably Red Bull is thinking of replacing him with Ricciardo, and that’s why there is ‘no one in the pipeline’.

However, there are also rumors of Red Bull going after Alex Palou to replace De Vries. Most probably, by the end of summer break, the fate of all these drivers will be known.

About the author

Tanish Chachra

Tanish Chachra is the Motorsport editor at The SportsRush. He saw his first race when F1 visited India in 2011, and since then, his romance with the sport has been seasonal until he took up this role in 2020. Reigniting F1's coverage on this site, Tanish has fallen in love with the sport all over again. He loves Kimi Raikkonen and sees a future world champion in Oscar Piastri. Away from us, he loves to snuggle inside his books.

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