Sergio Perez secured a spot in Q3 in three consecutive races, which he hadn’t done since Imola. This recent uptick in qualifying performances has come after he was under massive pressure to lose the Red Bull seat once again. According to experts on BBC’s F1: Chequered Flag podcast, Red Bull is going to extreme lengths to extract performance from Perez.
With the 34-year-old set to continue till the end of 2025 at least, Andrew Benson revealed that Red Bull hired a driving coach for Perez to help him get back to the front. However, when Rosanna Tennant asked him if the coaching helped, the Mexican was shocked.
Perez swept it under the rug by saying, “No, it was just to get up to speed. It’s always good to refresh your mind.” Soon after his reply was played, Benson pointed out that he probably wasn’t prepared for that question. They also pointed out how he paused a bit before replying, highlighting the shock factor.
Regardless, Perez needs to accept his shortcomings to work on them and he is doing so with Robin Wilson. The famed F1 coach has reportedly helped many F1 drivers including Kimi Raikkonen, Valtteri Bottas, and even Lance Stroll. Red Bull has secured his services to keep their championship hopes alive.
Can Perez turn it around with the help of the F1 coach?
One can predict the gravity of the situation if someone like Robin Wilson is being hired to help. The Austrian outfit’s championship defense is under serious threat and Perez is making things more difficult. This scenario needed changing on priority with McLaren catching up in the constructors’ standings.
It seems Mr. Wilson’s training is already taking effect. The Mexican made it through to Q3 convincingly and secured himself a decent enough starting position (P5) for the upcoming race on Zandvoort. However, the 34-year-old started from P2 in Belgium as well and then finished behind the leading pack in seventh thanks to George Russell’s disqualification.
So, even if he has improved his qualifying output, for now, there’s still work to do. Perez still needs to help his team secure at least the same or more points than the McLaren men. This needs to be the case for the next 10 races and if he doesn’t perform to the expected level and Red Bull loses the championship, his future might become uncertain again.
