Despite all of Helmut Marko’s assurances and a valid contract – Ralf Schumacher does not believe that Sergio Perez will drive for Red Bull in Formula 1 in 2024.
“Especially in the future, when other teams get closer, as a Red Bull you can’t afford that one driver is so much slower than the other. Logically, the team tries to make Perez believe that his job is not in danger, but I don’t think Perez will still be driving in Red Bull next year,” writes the Formula 1 expert in his column for “Sky”.
The Mexican was not consistent enough, criticized Schumacher. “He has too many fluctuations and maybe not mentally stable enough. He’s just too far away from Max and for me his days at Red Bull are numbered.”
Formula 1: Sergio Perez urgently needs to deliver
Perez is under pressure at Red Bull – and not only because of the sometimes disappointing results, but also because Daniel Ricciardo is scratching his hooves after his comeback as a regular driver at AlphaTauri. At the Hungarian Grand Prix, Perez shot another buck in free practice, flying off in the RB19 on a wet track. In qualifying, too, the 33-year-old fell short of expectations in ninth place, but then put in a strong race in which he raced to 3rd place. In the Drivers’ Championship, Perez is in second place, 110 points behind Verstappen.
Red Bull eminence Helmut Marko had already strengthened Perez’s back before the Hungarian GP. “He’s the first driver to keep up halfway with Max Verstappen. He’s second in the World Cup,” said Marko in an interview sport.de. Perez looks “significantly better” than his predecessors Pierre Gasly and Alex Albon and, despite his current weakness in qualifying, meets Red Bull’s requirements. Marko also succinctly noted that Perez “has a contract for two years, 2023 and 2024. This contract was signed last year.”
After the race in Budapest, Marko and “Bullen” team boss Christian Horner praised their ailing number 2 in unison. “Checo drove a great race. He was fast and overtook bravely, was really on the ball,” said Horner on “Sky”. Marko said Perez had inspired with some “tough overtaking manoeuvres”.