Out of all the drivers in Japan, no one struggled as much as Sergio Perez did in Suzuka on Sunday afternoon. The Red Bull driver made contact with four different drivers, landed multiple time penalties, and had to retire from the race- twice. Now, according to former F1 driver Robert Doornbos, Helmut Marko has had enough of Perez, as reported by Ziggo Sport.
For Red Bull, Sunday in Suzuka was euphoric. However, Perez’s side of the garage would be feeling a little bittersweet, especially considering how their weekend (and season as a whole) unfolded. Red Bull clinched their second consecutive, and sixth overall constructor’s championship title in Japan.
Perez, however, did little to contribute to this year’s championship win, with his teammate Max Verstappen outscoring all their rival teams by himself. Now, Perez, whose seat at Red Bull was already in danger, has reportedly angered Marko even more.
Helmut Marko has had enough of Sergio Perez
Perez’s season never really recovered after the slump he suffered following the first four races. He did make amends at times, but was still so far off the pace to Verstappen, that many questioned his future at the team.
Now, Doornbos says to Ziggo Sport as quoted by F1 Maximaal, that Perez may be in more danger than he has ever been this season. “Helmut Marko is completely done with this,” he says.
“We say he’s a good racer if he qualifies badly. But he doesn’t show that either. In Singapore he pounded Alexander Albon off, which was also pushing and pulling. Without damage passing by, no more has been spent on him for the last two weekends.”
Doornbos wasn’t kind with his words while talking about Perez. However, he was all praises while giving his take on Verstappen. Doornbos hailed the Dutchman for what he considers to be a historic drive at the iconic Suzuka circuit.
Max Verstappen singlehandedly carrying Red Bull
Verstappen has 400 points himself in the 2023 F1 season. He can seal the title in his favor, if he wins the Sprint race in Qatar in two weeks time, which would be the perfect culmination to a dominant season from the 25-year-old.
As for his drive in Suzuka, Doornbos claims that it was one of the best races he has ever seen. “If you take nearly eight tenths on your teammate, and more than half a second on number two, that’s the biggest hole we’ve seen in twenty years in Suzuka.”
He ended by comparing Verstappen’s consistency to that of a robot. Admittedly, almost every single weekend this season has been flawless for Verstappen. His worst result came in Singapore last weekend, where an underwhelming RB19 couldn’t let him get better than fifth place.
