“Not So Focused” Sergio Perez Under Fire From Helmut Marko Yet Again Despite Redeeming His Form

Sergio Perez has improved his form significantly over the last few races but seemingly hasn’t done enough to earn Red Bull chief Helmut Marko‘s full trust. While talking to Servus TV, the Milton-Keynes-based outfit’s chief advisor slammed Perez for his lack of focus and spoke about his future with the team.

Perez’s future with Red Bull does not seem to be 100% secure, despite him putting in good performances as of late. Earlier, Red Bull’s team principal Christian Horner and Marko, both, backed the Mexican driver publicly. As of late, however, Marko claims that nothing in F1 can be certain.

Perez drove a brilliant race in Monza to finish P2 despite starting from P5 on the grid. He helped Red Bull secure their sixth 1-2 finish of the season, in what was a historic outing for the team, and his teammate Max Verstappen, who won his 10th consecutive race. However, it seems as though Marko is still not entirely convinced about Perez’s abilities.

Sergio Perez is not fully focused, feels Helmut Marko

This season, Verstappen has been in the form of his life. The Dutchman has won 12 races so far this season, and with 10 wins on the trot, he looks unstoppable at the moment. As many people have claimed, comparing Perez to Verstappen is unfair, because of how great the latter has been. Still, the fact that Perez is 145 points behind the 25-year-old is staggering to some.

Perez’s place at Red Bull has been under threat for quite some time now. Names of potential replacements keep coming up, although nothing concrete has materialized as of yet. One name that keeps popping up is that of Lando Norris. While talking about potentially signing the Bristol-born driver, Marko ended up taking a dig at Perez yet again.

Awesome race, great team result! Excellent way to wrap up the European season pic.twitter.com/1vyJt8bOwG

— Sergio Pérez (@SChecoPerez) September 4, 2023

“Perez does not perform consistently,” Marko said. “He is not always focused. However, he has a contract through 2024, and Lando Norris has a contract through 2025.”

Marko ended his statement by suggesting that he regrets the fact that Norris is tied with McLaren until the 2025 season.

Is Lando Norris Red Bull’s dream candidate?

Norris is one of the biggest stars in F1 at the moment. Several F1 pundits even label him as a future world champion. Consequently, the McLaren star has gathered interest from some top teams on the grid, but he hasn’t been linked to any team as strongly as Red Bull.

In the same interview with Servus TV, Marko said, “It is a pity that that contract is running for so long. He would be one of the candidates.” 

Perez could be disheartened about the fact that the team feels he isn’t up to mark. However, the Guadalajara-born driver does insist that he won’t waste his time at Red Bull. If he feels he isn’t wanted by the team, Perez will look elsewhere to secure his F1 future.