Max Verstappen’s Father Breaks His Silence on Sergio Perez’s Seat at Red Bull

As the 2023 F1 season is nearing its end, the tension for Sergio Perez’s seat at Red Bull is intensifying. The Mexican, who has found a place for himself at Red Bull for 3 years, is currently in a precarious position. Despite having the best car on the track, Checo has failed to match his teammate Max Verstappen, who has a 209-point lead over him in the driver’s championship. With such differences, many believe, he might be sacked by Red Bull until next season. Amidst this, Max’s father, Jos Verstappen, was asked about his views on Perez’s seat.

Following five consecutive races in which Perez failed to qualify in the Q3 rounds, his last three racing weekends have been a complete letdown. Checo has only accumulated 5 points in the last three weekends and has received penalties for a variety of reasons. As a result, his current points total is only 224, and there’s a high probability that the 34-year-old is going to lose his place.

Although the Red Bull driver is still under contract with Milton Keynes until the end of 2024, given Red Bull’s performance-first approach, there may be questions about his RB seat.

What does Max Verstappen’s father have to say about Sergio Perez’s seat?

Following the race in Qatar, Perez has come under fire from Christian Horner and a number of analysts. The Lusail circuit proved to be a significant letdown for Perez because of his failure to stay within the white lines. Though Horner claims to be helping Perez in regaining his confidence, the Briton does not believe Sergio Perez would be a perfect match with Verstappen and make the ideal pairing at Red Bull.

In the midst of this whole drama, when Jos Verstappen was asked about Perez’s seat as reported by Formula Passion, he firmly refused to comment. Sr Verstappen said, “I have no idea what Red Bull will do and fortunately I am not the one who makes this decision.”

 

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Although he hesitated to remark on the performance, the former F1 driver expressed his pride in his own son’s achievement. Verstappen’s father has been seen as a harsh man who has machine-trained his kid. However, now that his child has ruled the track and won three consecutive championships, Jos Verstappen has expressed his delight.

He said, “We could never have dreamed of repeating all this three times in a row, it’s crazy and goes far beyond our dreams.”

Though Jos Verstappen has not stated his thoughts on Sergio Perez’s position, the topic of who will replace the Mexican driver still lingers.

Red Bull’s favorite to replace Sergio Perez

Sergio Perez is contracted with Red Bull until 2024. However, given the Mexican’s downfall, the Austrian team may be tempted to explore alternatives. Red Bull has kept a close eye on McLaren’s Lando Norris, who has impressed everyone in the 2nd half of the season.

However, that might not become a reality very soon, as the Briton has a contract till 2025 with the Papays and he’s willing to stay at the Woking-based team. In that, Red Bull has their own pool of talent. Liam Lawson grabbed all the attention when he replaced Daniel Ricciardo at AlphaTauri and outpaced his experienced teammate Yuki Tsunoda multiple times.

The constructors’ champions also have an experienced option in the form of Daniel Ricciardo, who is keen to return to Red Bull.