New partner for Verstappen?
Perez is fighting against being kicked out at Red Bull
7/20/2023 1:44 p.m
While Max Verstappen is heading towards his third world title in a relaxed manner, Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez has been disappointing for weeks. The Mexican sits in the fastest car in Formula 1. If the negative series continues, in the worst case he is threatened with immediate eviction.
Sergio Perez beamed. He has no chance against Max Verstappen at Red Bull and now Daniel Ricciardo is also putting pressure on him, but at that moment “Checo” was the big star again. Around 80,000 spectators cheered him on, and Perez posed for selfies with a smile. Only: His fun was limited to a show run in Madrid, his real Formula 1 life looks very different. Perez has to tremble for his future.
“Hungary is an important race for me,” says Perez, looking ahead to the next showdown at the gates of Budapest (Sunday, 3 p.m. / Sky and in the live ticker on ntv.de). The ailing Mexican knows he has to deliver at the Hungaroring: “It’s about getting my whole weekend under control.” Otherwise, Perez could very quickly be history at Red Bull.
He hasn’t had a chance against his teammate Verstappen for a long time, but now a new danger is looming: Ricciardo. The radiant man from Australia and Red Bull replacement pilot is now taking over for the sacked Nyck de Vries at the AlphaTauri sister team. For many experts, this is also a sign that Perez is now shaking and may be replaced by Ricciardo next season.
Perez knows he’s not living up to expectations
Of course, Red Bull team boss Christian Horner officially doesn’t want to know anything about that. “I think he just needs a good run and then he’ll find his momentum again,” says the Briton: “We support him. We know he can do it. We know he will do it. And we’re just trying to make sure it happens as soon as possible.” But not only for football coaches does a job guarantee not really count for much.
In any case, the numbers and the trend speak against Perez. He wanted to fight for the title, but is already 99 points behind Verstappen, who is cruising towards his third World Championship crown. Perez has only been on the podium once in the last five races and has also failed several times in qualifying. And that in a Red Bull, the absolutely dominating car in the field.
“I know that I sometimes failed to meet expectations in qualifying this season. That’s why I have to concentrate on being successful on Saturday,” says Perez, who put in an extra shift in the simulator ahead of Hungary: “Because I know that I have the race pace on Sunday and an incredible car that should end up on the podium every weekend.” But on the winner’s podium there was only one for Red Bull: Verstappen racing machine. Perez only had fun at the show run.