Credits: IMAGO / PanoramiC
There has been a lot of chatter about Sergio Perez’s place at Red Bull amid his severe underperformance since the Miami GP. However, the Milton Keynes outfit have decided to back the Mexican driver for the rest of the season despite rumors of a mid-season replacement. F1 expert, Jolyon Palmer feels Red Bull is trying to maintain stability by keeping Perez.
Discussing the 34-year-old’s situation on F1’s Weekend Warm-Up for the Dutch GP, Palmer said,
“The thing is for Red Bull is that they’ve kept stability and they’re now in a dogfight for the championship. So they’re obviously choosing stability, choosing to keep Max happy having the teammate alongside him, no shuffle.”
Palmer reasoned that even if Red Bull were keen on replacing Perez, “there’s no obvious candidate to put in Checo’s place this year. While there were rumors about Daniel Ricciardo or Liam Lawson being in contention to jump in the RB20 after the summer break, several factors behind the scenes have helped the Mexican driver retain his seat.
Formula 2 driver Gabriel Bortoleto believes this season will be Sergio Perez’s last at Red Bull
Do you agree with the F2 title challenger? pic.twitter.com/0HVg4gtCga
— Autosport (@autosport) August 17, 2024
Moreover, despite his intermittent struggles, Perez has been an integral part of Red Bull’s championship success since 2021. Unlike his predecessors. the #11 driver has delivered decent results and served as a good wingman to Max Verstappen — a dynamic Red Bull ideally want in their driver line-up.
If they decide to bench Perez midway through this season and bring in another driver, it could unsettle the dynamic with Verstappen. Besides, as Palmer said, there is no guarantee that Ricciardo or Lawson could perform better than Perez after being thrown into the car at the eleventh hour during a close championship battle.
As a result, Perez has the chance to draw on his experience and deliver better performances to repay Red Bull‘s faith in the second half of this season. Meanwhile, if he can perform better, he can also justify the team’s decision to give him a new contract till the end of 2026.
Why did Red Bull retain Perez till 2026?
It seemed a strange call when Red Bull announced Perez’s contract extension at the Canadian GP. Especially when there was a big name like Carlos Sainz available in the market. While there were commercial factors that swayed the pendulum in the Mexican’s favor, his form could have made the Austrian team reconsider their decision.
Sainz was also waiting to hear from big teams like Red Bull and Mercedes, as he also wanted a competitive seat. However, the Spaniard had to settle for Williams as the Milton Keynes outfit made their choice and Mercedes seemed set on promoting Kimi Antonelli.
As for Red Bull, Verstappen seems set to stay at the team for the foreseeable future, unless something drastic happens. Given the Dutchman likes Perez as a teammate, it may also help the 34-year-old to extend his stay at Red Bull for as long as possible.
However, Perez needs to pull up his socks in terms of performance. Because if Red Bull lose the constructors’ championship this season due to his underpar showings, the #11 driver may run out of the long rope he has received.
