In a season in which Red Bull has already won the drivers’ and constructors’ titles, Sergio Perez absolutely has to finish second – otherwise it will be tight for Max Verstappen’s teammate. Although primarily Red Bull’s motorsport advisor Dr. Helmut Marko is one of “Checo” Perez’s chief critics, and he chose remarkably benevolent words after the US Grand Prix.
According to Helmut Marko, Sergio Perez made the most of his disappointing qualifying performance on Friday at the Austin Grand Prix. The Mexican went from ninth on the grid to fifth place – due to Lewis Hamilton’s disqualification he even slipped up to fourth place.
“From ninth on the grid he achieved the maximum. On the medium he drove the same lap times as Max,” said the otherwise critical Red Bull boss on “Sky”: “His racing speed was impeccable, but overtaking is insane here difficult.”
Marko sees a “clear upward trend” in Perez
Therefore, Perez’s performance on Sunday was “satisfactory” and “a clear upward trend.” Warm words that Perez was probably only too happy to hear before his home game in Mexico next weekend. In the individual evaluation of sport.de the Mexican received a grade of 3.5.
Marko had repeatedly increased the pressure on Perez in the past few weeks and declared second place in the drivers’ standings as his clear goal. In Austin, the disqualification of Lewis Hamilton played into his hands: The Brit remains third with 201 points, Perez now has 240 points. After the Mexican GP, Perez still has to compete in Brazil (November 5th), Las Vegas (November 19th) and Abu Dhabi (November 26th).
Sergio Perez has a contract with Red Bull until 2024. “It won’t be my last contract in Formula 1,” announced the veteran. “Checo” recently said he believes he has “a few more good years to come.” “I’m at Red Bull and I want to stay at Red Bull. But of course it has to be right for both sides.”