In a feature on Sergio Perez‘s driving style, Motorsport expert and YouTuber Scott Mansell displayed the immense gap Perez suffers from his teammate, Max Verstappen, in Qualifying. Looking at the record, Perez has often struggled in 2023 to even make it out of Q2. But why is a driver of Perez’s caliber not able to match his teammate’s pace and is often out-qualified by theoretically slower cars? Well, Mansell has explained his findings.
While dissecting Perez’s driving style, Mansell explained, “This style is very gentle on the tires.” As it turns out, Perez’s reputation as the tire whisperer has led to his eventual downfall. “This means that Checo often struggles to get his tires fired up during Qualifying,” added the ex-British racing driver.
In 2023, Perez failed to make it to Q3 on nine occasions. What’s more, his average Qualifying position on the grid was 9th. In comparison to his teammate, Verstappen, who boasted an average grid spot of 3rd, Perez really struggled to make the most out of Qualifying in arguably the fastest car on the grid.
This meant that he had to put double the work in during the races. But given the constraints of modern Grand Prix racing, even though Perez managed to make places up, he was almost always out of contention for the win or even a podium at times. This dip in form almost cost him his 2024 race seat, too.
Sergio Perez’s time at Red Bull may be coming to an end
Dismal Qualifying performances coupled with damaged race results meant that Perez was always chasing his seat for next year. With mistakes creeping in and his poor run of form continuing, the Guadalajara-born driver was tipped to be dropped from the Milton Keynes team for 2024.
However, he managed to retain his seat for at least another year after he clinched P2 in the driver’s standings. This came out to be an unofficial ultimatum that had been handed to Perez; however, his boss, Christian Horner, had later come out to say that there were no plans of sacking the Mexican just yet.
But with Perez now moving into the last year of his contract with the Bulls, it is to be seen if Horner & Co. show the same amount of confidence in the Mexican if his poor form continues at the helm of the RB2o.
To make matters worse for Sergio Perez, 2023 saw three candidates crop up to usurp his seat at Red Bull. Yuki Tsunoda has been eyeing that 2nd Bulls seat for a while now; however, with the addition of Daniel Ricciardo and super-sub Liam Lawson thrown into the mix, 2024 might as well be Perez’s swansong at MK7.
