Red Bull Chief Furious at Sergio Perez for ‘Unnecessary’ Attack on Max Verstappen at the Austrian GP

Sergio Perez finally came to life at the Austrian GP Sprint Race as he put up a brilliant fight against Max Verstappen at the start of the race for the lead. However, this came at a cost to the Mexican driver as he is now in trouble with Red Bull’s chief advisor Helmut Marko.

Perez had a brilliant start from P2 as he closed into Verstappen and managed to pass him for the lead into turn 1. Verstappen came right back at Perez but soon found his path blocked as Perez pushed him off into the grass.

Verstappen 📻: “He pushed me off, what the f*** man.”

Perez 📻: “What’s wrong with Max, man.”#F1 #AustrianGP pic.twitter.com/7NDPZMl1ZA

— Autosport (@autosport) July 1, 2023

Verstappen managed to save it but was very frustrated as he got on the radio and said, “He pushed me off man. What the ****.”  The Dutchman then sent his car up the inside into turn 3, which, in turn, pushed Perez off the track. This time it was the Mexican who got on the radio and screamed out, “What’s wrong with Max man?”

Right after the race was over, Verstappen and Perez were seen having a chat with each other regarding the incident. However, despite that, Helmut Marko is still furious with Perez’s actions on track and has suggested that he wants answers from the Mexican.

Helmut Marko wants to have a talk with Sergio Perez

Perez was very clear about why he ended up pushing Verstappen off the track. He explained that the poor visibility at the start of the race was the reason why he did not spot Verstappen to his right, and this is what caused the whole kerfuffle.

Marko acknowledged Perez’s reasons but he claimed that he would have a discussion with Perez about the incident. Talking to ORF, Marko said, “Everything after Turn 1 was not necessary. We have to look at it and I’m still going to talk to Checo about this”

pic.twitter.com/KpLVKrMTi3

— @RBR_Daily (@RedBullUpdates) July 1, 2023

All of this will only put even more pressure on Perez who is already under a lot of criticism for his underwhelming performance throughout the season. There have been widespread speculations that he might be replaced, and his actions on track are certainly not helping that.

Perez’s disastrous 2023 season

Sergio Perez has had a very disappointing season so far. After starting off strong, his performances have fallen off the cliff and he has failed to even come close to the level his teammate Verstappen is performing at.

Even with the same machinery, Verstappen has claimed pole position in the last four races, whereas Perez has failed to reach Q3 in each one of them. The Dutchman has 203 points to his name and is leading the Driver’s championship at the moment. Perez is lagging behind with a massive 133 points.

Perez will start the Austrian GP on Sunday in P15 after failing to put in a single lap in Q2 without going over track limits. His main focus would be to put on a strong performance and recover as much as he can.