Sergio Perez is not having a great time in 2023. Even his home race — the Mexico City Grand Prix — turned out to be an absolute disaster post his first turn collision. Armchair expert podcast host Dax Shepard in his recent episode of eff won podcast claimed that Perez’s constant pursuit of proving himself has brought him into a state of tilt.
Meaning, he is amidst emotional confusion or frustration with current ongoing events in his career. And expanding on that, Shepard believes Perez has lost the capacity to think rationally which resulted in his recent DNF in Mexico.
“He’s living like he’s starting at 80% heart rate and cortisol before the race starts and I just think he by turn one he’s like he’s blown past the capacity to think rationally. The stakes are just way too high, and he’s got so much to prove, and I think he starts already tense,” said Shephard.
Mexico isn’t the only instance where Perez has stumbled and lost on the points that could have given him desirable results in the previous races. In several races, he has also failed to be in Q3, which obviously halted his optimum result even though he is known for his exceptional race pace.
With such inconsistent results, Perez’s job at Red Bull is certainly at risk. However, Horner publicly has claimed that Red Bull ‘intends’ to keep him for 2024 as the agreement between the two parties is till then. But Red Bull is known for its ruthlessness.
Sergio Perez can be axed amidst rising alternates
Red Bull is considered to be one of the most unapologetic sides when it comes to sacking its drivers. And with the dipping results of Perez, there are reports of his sacking circulation. Red Bull has an optimal alternative in golden boy Daniel Ricciardo, who recovered from his injury and achieved a P7 with a ‘backmarker’ AlphaTauri.
However, the limited appearances by the Aussie race driver must have limited Red Bull’s hand to pull the plug on Perez’s stint. Amidst Perez’s predicament, the only saving grace for him would be securing his runner-up spot in the standings.
However, that too is in danger as Lewis Hamilton is in red-hot form and is catching up to Perez with the difference of seven points per race. If that trajectory is maintained for the last three races, then the Mexican will lose second in the championship to Hamilton by a point.
