It has often been said that Red Bull’s ‘Max Verstappen-centric‘ approach to building their cars is the reason for Sergio Perez‘s struggles. That narrative was exemplified after the Mexican suffered a dismal 2023 season, where he lagged behind by a massive 290 points to his teammate. However, according to famous motorsport YouTuber and ex-racing driver Driver61, aka Scott Mansell, Perez’s woes with the RB19 have more to do with Adrian Newey’s design genius than Max Verstappen.
With the RB19, Newey experimented and introduced a clever system of suspension that created two phenomenons – ‘anti-dive‘ and ‘anti-squat.’ According to Mansell, while this is a design innovation that quickens the car, it can get really cumbersome for the drivers to manage, handling-wise.
According to the Briton, these two events, in load situations, cause a semblance of understeer on the cars. “If you have too much [anti-dive and anti-squat], you can often see the car understeer,” under braking. This is where Mansell believes that Verstappen is better able to handle this, while Perez’s driving style acts as a limitation with regard to the RB19.
Many would argue that the way the RB19 behaves is something that Verstappen is best suited to, and hence, it is a conscious decision by the team to cater to Verstappen’s needs. His ex-teammate, Alex Albon, even credited Verstappen’s “unique” driving style to fit perfectly with Red Bull’s concept.
Despite the speculations, Verstappen’s consistency as a driver cannot be overlooked. His eye-watering 19 Grand Prix wins this season stand as a testament to him being a safer bet for the Bulls to build a team around and cater to. And this is something even 2x champion Mika Hakkinen agrees with.
Max Verstappen built Red Bull around him
According to Hakkinen, Red Bull’s charge surrounding Verstappen isn’t a case of bias; rather, it is the conscious effort of the Dutchman and his comments that have built the car around him. “I believe Red Bull’s car has been optimized with the help of technology, people, Max’s comments and [his] consistency,” explained the Finn.
Another thing that inevitably leads to Verstappen’s way in terms of car development is his drive to succeed. Hakkinen believes that Verstappen is the dominant one in the team, who gives the most amount of feedback, data, and input to the engineers in terms of car behavior that impacts the developmental route in his favor.
The 1998 and 1999 world champion feels that Perez lacks the commitment and consistency of someone like Verstappen. Naturally, it won’t be long before Red Bull decides that enough is enough and chooses to part ways with him.
With 2024 shaping up to be a more competitive season for the entire grid, Sergio Perez really finds himself in the hot seat. If he cannot perform, the chances of him retaining a seat for 2025 look slim, given that he is entering the last year of his Red Bull contract anyway.
