Message for the Only ‘One Choice’ for Sergio Perez’s Seat at Red Bull: “Grab Them With Both Hands”

Srijon Jana | 22/07/2023
Message for the Only ‘One Choice’ for Sergio Perez’s Seat at Red Bull: “Grab Them With Both Hands”

Sergio Perez is going through an underwhelming 2023 season with Red Bull. After failing to reach Q3 for five consecutive races starting from the Monaco GP, Perez was hell-bent on putting in a strong performance in Hungary this weekend. However, crashing out on his first FP1 lap meant that speculations about him being replaced by the team only increased further. Amidst all of these speculations, former F1 driver Johnny Herbert has voiced his opinion about who would be the best replacement for Perez at Red Bull.

Perez had a decent start to the 2023 season. After 4 races, the Mexican was tied on race wins with his teammate Max Verstappen. However, ever since, Verstappen has won all 6 races and on the contrary, Perez has struggled to find form, especially during qualifying. This has led to the majority of the F1 world believing that Perez will soon be given the De Vries treatment by Red Bull.

Many names have come up as a possible replacement for Perez over the last few weeks. These include the likes of Yuki Tsunoda of AlphaTauri along with his new teammate, Daniel Ricciardo. Alex Albon’s recent performances have also put his name among the possible replacements. There are rumors about names like Lando Norris and Charles Leclerc as well. However, Herbert believes that there is only one worthy successor to Perez.

Lando Norris should not miss out on “rare opportunities”

Johnny Herbert believes that the best option for Red Bull right now would be to go after McLaren’s Lando Norris. As per F1 Maximaal, Herbert said, “If I had to choose, there was only one choice. And that boy is currently driving an orange car.”

As for Norris, Herbert believes that he should at least consider the option once because not everyone gets the chance to drive for Red Bull. “Opportunities like this are rare in this sport. When they are there you have to grab them with both hands,” said Herbert.

He further explained that Norris is still young and has a big career left ahead of him. On top of that the young Briton has been able to build up a good reputation about himself. However, Herbert mentions that his current contract with McLaren will play a big role in determining if he gets the chance to move to Red Bull if the Milton-Keynes outfit comes calling.

Norris’ move to Red Bull could be a tragedy

Red Bull are not the only team who are reportedly trying to recruit the services of Norris. There have been surprising reports about Ferrari are also looking into the McLaren driver. The fact that the Maranello-based outfit still hasn’t renewed the contracts of Leclerc and Sainz is only strengthening these rumors.

In this tug-of-war between Red Bull and Ferrari, many prominent personalities harbor beliefs opposite to that of Herbert’s. According to F1 expert Joe Saward, moving to Red Bull would be a disaster for Norris. He claimed, “going to Red Bull and trying to beat Max Verstappen is also a career path from hell.”

Amidst contrasting opinions about Norris joining leaving, the main aim of the young driver would be to keep on performing at the highest level for McLaren.

Post Edited By: Somin Bhattacharjee
Lando Norris McLaren Red Bull Sergio Perez

About the author

Srijon Jana

Srijon Jana is a Formula 1 writer at The SportsRush. As a medical undergrad with a passion for motorsports, Srijon loves juggling between cadavers and cars with ease. He started watching F1 when he was only 11, and the beautiful cars grabbed his interest. Even now, he religiously follows all the Grands Prix, and when he is not gushing over Charles Leclerc, he likes to dabble in football as well. He is a college quizzer with several state-level and national-level accolades. He is a proud Ferrari fan, and loves to pass his free time reading, watching movies, and spending some quality time with his friends and family.

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