Sergio Perez drove a solid race for Red Bull in the opening round, finishing behind teammate Max Verstappen to complete a 1-2 for the team. However, he finished more than 20 seconds behind the Dutchman, which isn’t a good sign. Continuing down this road could potentially end up putting Perez under more pressure.
On the BBC F1 Chequered Flag podcast, the hosts analyzed Perez’s performance at the season opener in Bahrain. In 2023’s opening race, the gap between the two was half of what we saw last weekend. It looked as though Perez has fallen quite a bit in terms of his pace compared to Verstappen. Hence, it has been labeled as a “worrying trajectory” for the Guadalajara-born driver.
Last year, Perez was much closer to Verstappen in the opening rounds of the championship. He won two races and was looking like a proper title contender. However, as the season progressed, he lost steam and despite finishing in P2 in the driver’s standings, he was 290 points adrift Verstappen.
If Perez’s gap to Verstappen is larger than it was last year, other teams could come in between him and Verstappen. The testing and the opening rounds suggest that Red Bull’s rivals have made strides, and are closer together. Perez’s inability to get closer to Verstappen could hurt Red Bull’s title aspirations, which in turn would lead to the Milt0n-Keynes-based team looking for a replacement.
Who can replace Sergio Perez at Red Bull?
Sergio Perez is in the last year of his Red Bull contract. To get an extension, his team suggests that all he has to do, is perform well. But if he is unable to compete at the front, they could part ways with him at the end of the season, or even before that. There are several replacements who could be shortlisted if the outfit decides to sack the 34-year-old.
V-CARB duo Daniel Ricciardo and Yuki Tsunoda are heavily linked to that Red Bull seat. They will likely be the first choice if Perez’s stint comes to an end. Other than them, Liam Lawson is a Red Bull junior, who is also held in high regard within the Red Bull fraternity.
️ | Helmut Marko on Checo’s race performance
“It wouldn’t have made any sense to push the pace. He had Sainz under control and there was no chance of moving forward.”
“Perez therefore did absolutely the right thing tactically and never pushed.
To put it another way, he… pic.twitter.com/sBqsI7VupR
— RBR News (@redbulletin) March 3, 2024
Another driver who could make a shock return to the Red Bull camp is Carlos Sainz. He will leave Ferrari in 2025 due to Lewis Hamilton’s arrival, and is looking for a seat. Previously, the Spaniard drove for Red Bull’s sister team Toro Rosso, alongside Max Verstappen.
