The sudden dip in Sergio Perez’s performance has become a mystery for F1 experts. He started the season on a positive trajectory and kept it that way until the renewal of his contract. The Red Bull management believed the Mexican driver would keep up the form now that he does not have to worry about his future. But they couldn’t be more wrong.
Perez reportedly has a performance clause in his contract that lays down the bare minimum he needs to do to keep his seat. Among those, reportedly, is him ensuring a race finish within the five places of Max Verstappen.
SDPN’s Tim Hauraney claims Perez has until the summer break to achieve that. However, Perez’s confidence has taken a massive hit recently. Speaking of the same, Hauraney said on the Nailing The Apex podcast,
“It’s tough for Sergio. I don’t even know what to say anymore, like, I feel bad for the guy. It’s not like he’s a cr*p driver, right? I don’t think any of these drivers are cr*p drivers. All of these drivers are incredibly talented. It’s just a confidence issue for this guy. He just doesn’t get out of his own way sometimes.”
Hauraney also recalled the prophetic words that he used when Perez signed the extension. He rightly predicted the presence of performance clauses, which are a major part of discussions revolving around Perez.
ESPN’s Nate Saunders too recently pondered over the 34-year-old’s contract situation and compared it with Nyck de Vries’. The sacked AlphaTauri (now Visa Cash App RB) driver had identical five-race assessment windows.
Martin Brundle asks Christian Horner a “brutal question” on Perez
Red Bull is spoiled for choice when it comes to picking a possible replacement for Perez. With the likes of Daniel Ricciardo, Yuki Tsunoda, and Liam Lawson in the wings, there should be little problem in getting any of those drivers up to speed.
Brundle, who had similar queries, put them forth to the Red Bull team boss. In the latest episode of the Sky Sports F1 podcast, he revealed, “I asked Christian Horner in the press on Friday, did he regret signing Sergio up so early again? Christian thought it was a brutal question, but I thought it was a relevant question at the time.”
Horner revealed the early extension was an attempt to give Perez relief over the uncertainty of his future. The Red Bull boss cited the example from the past when the #33 driver’s form picked up after signing an extension. On this occasion, though, it may not have had a similar impact.
