Sergio Perez finds himself in a precarious position as Red Bull teammate Max Verstappen has beaten him convincingly in the 2023 season. The Mexican is now a whopping 209 points behind the Dutchman, who has already clinched the championship with five races to spare. Moreover, Perez’s second place in the championship is also at risk now, with Lewis Hamilton breathing down his neck.
F1 expert Natalie Pinkham has warned Perez that if he does not finish runners-up in the championship this season, then Red Bull will have no choice but to sack him for failing to meet expectations. While speaking on a Sky F1 podcast, she said, “If he (Perez) doesn’t, then I’m afraid that is the end of his career at Red Bull“.
A weekend where nothing worked out for us, first of all I want to thank my entire @redbullracing team very much for getting my car ready on time, we have the best mechanics in the world.
Let’s think about the closing, there are still 5 very important races left and we are going… pic.twitter.com/UOT0PCkqlQ
— Sergio Pérez (@SChecoPerez) October 8, 2023
However, Hamilton does not believe that he will finish second in the championship. While he made it clear in a recent interview that he will try his best to finish as high as possible, he insisted that his primary aim is now to help Mercedes finish second in the Constructors’ Championship.
Lewis Hamilton believes Sergio Perez should finish second
Since Red Bull have such a dominant car this season, Lewis Hamilton believes that Sergio Perez should easily beat him to second in the championship. As quoted by racingnews365.com, the Briton said, “I mean, it’s ultimately largely dependent on Checo’s performance moving forward as he should easily have second“.
Since the expectation of everyone is that Perez should easily finish second in the championship, the pressure is completely on the Mexican to fulfill the same goal. However, as the 33-year-old continues to make more and more mistakes, he has made his life much harder.
This is because since the gap between Perez and Hamilton is now just 30 points with five races remaining in the 2023 season, the Mexican race driver has it all to do if he is to finish second in the championship. Moreover, it is not just F1 experts and fellow drivers that are seemingly raising the pressure for Perez, but also the Red Bull team themselves.
Marko issues a warning to Perez as Hamilton edges closer
While speaking in a recent interview, Helmut Marko has made it clear that he expects Sergio Perez to finish second in the championship. As quoted by Kronen Zeitung, the Austrian said, “We have to defend second place in the world championship. Unfortunately, Lewis Hamilton is getting closer“.
The 80-year-old has always been critical of Perez’s performances and has often explained how poor he has been when compared to Red Bull teammate Max Verstappen. However, since Perez is still ahead of Hamilton in the championship at this point, his future still seems to be in his hands.
This is because if the Guadalajara-born driver finishes second in the championship, the Milton Keynes outfit are expected to honor the Mexican’s contract by keeping him for the 2024 season. However, if he does not, then Red Bull may consider promoting someone like Daniel Ricciardo to replace Perez for the next season.
