Sergio Perez has had quite a disappointing 2023 season with below-par performances despite having the fastest car on the grid. Even though the Mexican driver failed to keep up with his teammate Max Verstappen, he has received a lot of support from the Red Bull heads. However, the support was short-lived as Helmut Marko recently slammed Perez, as reported by Grandpx.news for his underperformances while hinting that Lando Norris could have been a potential replacement of not for his long contract at McLaren.
Norris has been linked with Red Bull for quite a long time. With Perez failing to challenge his teammate, there were intense speculations that the Milton Keynes-based outfit would want a stronger teammate for the Dutchman if the other teams manage to close up to Red Bull.
The F1 paddock has been quite polarized regarding whether Norris should join Red Bull if it comes his way, or reject the current champions and stay at McLaren. Amidst all of this, Marko decided to make their interest in the Briton even clearer.
Helmut Marko compares Lando Norris with Sergio Perez
As per a report by Grandpx.news, Helmut Marko told Servus TV, “Lando Norris has a contract until 2025. Unfortunate that it’s for so long, because he would be one of the candidates.” He further explained that they had almost managed to recruit Norris back in 2019 before he decided to join McLaren.
Marko said, “In terms of youth and speed, he would suit is very well.” This makes it quite evident that Red Bull rate Norris very highly are certainly eyeing the McLaren driver. The Red Bull chief advisor compared Norris with Perez. He commented that Norris would bring some young blood to the team .In contrast, Perez is 33 years old at the moment.
Marko believes that Perez has other priorities in life and that might be a problem for the team. He further criticized the Mexican driver and said, “Perez is not consistent. He is not always focused.”
Perez reveals he is looking for alternatives
Perez himself understands that he hasn’t been up to the mark this season. He has been way off the pace compared to his teammate, in equal cars. There have been instances where Verstappen has taken five consecutive pole positions with Perez failing to get his car into Q3 in the same five races.
The former Racing Point driver realises that Red Bull might not want to keep him around for much longer. He recently revealed that he would be okay with looking for alternatives if Red Bull decide to sack him. If he does want to retain his seat, Perez would have to pull up his socks right now and help his team out in every way.
