Sergio Perez “nowhere near up to speed”, form is “disastrous” for Red Bull
“It’s disastrous for Red Bull if they want to score maximum points."
Sergio Perez’s form is “disastrous” for Red Bull, they have been warned.
No sooner did the under-pressure Mexican finally sign a new contract which should have ended doubt about his Red Bull career, a patch of rocky form has caused a new debate.
Perez failed to finish in Monaco or Canada, then finished a lowly eighth last weekend in Spain as teammate Max Verstappen won again.
Worryingly for Perez, he finished behind both McLarens, both Mercedes, and both Ferraris in Spain.
“It’s difficult to understand,” Damon Hill said on Sky Sports.
“He’s in the best car, next to McLaren.
“But he’s not able to match Max which, now, means four or five grid places.
“It’s disastrous for Red Bull if they want to score maximum points.
“Helping Max, and defending in races, he’s nowhere near being up to speed.”
Red Bull boss Christian Horner leapt to Perez’s defence.
He said: “If I’m not mistaken I think we extended our lead today?
“We need Checo in the mix. And he knows that. And the team knows that.
“And if he’s on the back end of the top eight you lose strategic options, whether you split it or so on, Checo in the first 4/5 races this year was fantastic, we just need to get him back into that headspace.”
Red Bull scored more points than any other team at last weekend’s Spanish GP thanks mainly to Verstappen’s victory.
They remain top of the constructors’ championship while, in the drivers’ standings, Perez is fifth - he trails Verstappen, Lando Norris, Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz.
This weekend at the F1 Austrian Grand Prix - the home race for the Red Bull team - scrutiny on Perez could be fierce.
Danica Patrick advised: “He needs to show pace from the beginning of the weekend. And a really solid position.
“That way, he has more confidence going into qualifying to put himself in a better position there.
“That’s really where he can make the most amount of progress.
“Then, just be smart in the races. He has an incredibly good car.
“To make the most of that, and to not make mistakes, is how to put his best foot forward.”
James was a sports journalist at Sky Sports for a decade covering everything from American sports, to football, to F1.
