Sergio Perez has been under severe pressure as of late because of a string of underwhelming performances. This is because before last weekend’s Hungarian GP, the Mexican had failed to qualify for Q3 in five consecutive races. As the pressure on the 33-year-old continues to increase, there are rumors that Red Bull may replace him. However, Red Bull’s chief advisor Helmut Marko has not only denied such speculations but also humiliated Perez and another driver in the process.
When asked about the possibility of signing Nico Hulkenberg, Marko said that Red Bull could sign him for qualifying, and then Perez could replace him during the race. The Austrian presumably made such a comment because of Perez‘s disastrous qualifying record this year. When it comes to Hulkenberg, it seems that Marko humiliated him despite the German showcasing his loyalty.
The 35-year-old had heaped praise on Max Verstappen in an interview earlier this year and opened up on how he had held talks with Marko for a potential seat on the team. Since Red Bull previously showed interest in Hulkenberg, it will be interesting to see if the German can get a seat at the team, sometime in the future.
Marko gives a hilarious reply when asked if Red Bull will sign Hulkenberg
Nico Hulkenberg has been mightily impressive this year as he has delivered some fantastic qualifying performances with Haas. With Sergio Perez struggling during qualifying, some rumors have suggested that Red Bull could be eyeing Hulkenberg.
With that in mind, Helmut Marko gave a hilarious response when asked about the same. The Austrian told the Kleine Zeitung newspaper (as quoted by newsonf1.com), “Let’s put it this way. We’ll get him (Hulkenberg) for qualifying, and then Perez will drive the race“.
Marko made this remark because despite all of Perez’s struggles during qualifying, he has been fantastic in the races. Even last week in Hungary, the former Racing Point driver finished on the podium despite starting from P9. On the other hand, Hulkenberg, could still very well make a move to a bigger team. He has been mightily impressive for Haas so far this season.
Schumacher believes Hulkenberg his wasting his talent at Haas
Even though Nico Hulkenberg has just scored nine points this year, it is not so much because of him performing poorly but because the Haas car does not have the pace during the race. Hence, he has just had one points-scoring finish this year, at the Australian GP.
Meanwhile, his other points came during the sprint race weekend in Austria when he finished sixth after starting from P4. With Hulkenberg showcasing so much promise, former F1 driver Ralf Schumacher believes he is wasting his talent at the Kannapolis-based outfit.
Schumacher believes that while the 35-year-old’s options are likely to be limited, he still believes that all of them are better than Haas. While recently writing his column for Sky Germany (as quoted by planetf1.com), the 48-year-old stated that even the likes of Williams and AlphaTauri are better options than Haas because of the investments that have been made at these teams.
After stating the same, Schumacher concluded by adding that Hulkenberg is doing a fantastic job at Haas and deserves more. With Hulkenberg receiving so much praise from a six-time F1 race winner, it will be interesting to see what the futures holds for him.
