Red Bull Admits Sergio Perez Is the “Biggest Problem” on Their Hands

Every weekend is becoming a similar disappointing story for Sergio Perez. Currently, his 2024 season is on a downward trajectory, with no podiums since the Chinese GP. Despite that, the Milton Keynes outfit awarded him a 1+1 year contract extension. So, even though his position is secured, Perez’s unpredictable performances are currently Red Bull’s biggest problem.

The Mexican was among the fastest on the long runs during Friday at the Hungaroring. However, a silly mistake in qualifying caused him to crash out and he had to start the race in 16th.

Perez followed that up with a strong recovery race finishing P7, but it could’ve been much better. It needs to be much better as Red Bull’s constructors’ title is under massive threat from McLaren.

Owing to his weekend, in his SpeedWeek Hungarian GP column, Helmut Marko summarized Perez’s weekend with one word. He wrote, “A GP weekend that was typical of Pérez, I would say, unpredictable.” 

He then stated about the constructors’ title threat. Marko added, “McLaren is still scoring points with both drivers up front, and our main problem is that we have scored far too few points with Checo Pérez in the last few races.” Being called unpredictable and the biggest problem does not shine a very bright light on Perez’s Red Bull future.

“It hurts, it hurts to let your whole team down”

Sergio Perez says he is determined to get back to his best after a heartbreaking early end to his qualifying in Hungary pic.twitter.com/TpGINRaJLh

— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) July 20, 2024

With a 76-point lead, Marko is not at ease but is secure about the drivers’ championship. The 81-year-old believes Max Verstappen will not bottle his advantage to Lando Norris.

However, the Woking outfit has reduced the advantage to 51 points in the constructors’ standings thanks to Perez’s low-scoring output. This problem needs to be solved and there’s a meeting scheduled for exactly that after the Belgian GP.

Red Bull honchos schedule a meeting to discuss Perez’s situation after the Belgian GP

Despite a strong start in the 2024 season heading toward a third successive title, Red Bull now has its back against the wall. As the battle for the constructors’ title with McLaren heats up, the reigning champions need to figure out their plan to counterattack.

The first step is discussing Perez’s situation and how to tackle the Mexican’s unpredictability. That is why, the Red Bull honchos are meeting in the UK after the upcoming race weekend ahead of the F1 summer break. As quoted by Planet F1, Marko revealed, “On Monday after Spa, I’ll fly to England and discuss with Horner the procedure”.

The meeting could also see a massive change in the Austrian outfit — with Perez being replaced, to sustain the championship battle.