Red Bull has been dealing with the inconsistent Sergio Perez for a long time now. It has been a complicated deal with the Mexican driver. He has been part of the Austrian outfit’s winning phase, starting from the 2021 Driver’s Championship to the present day. They could not win the constructor title in 2021, as Mercedes still had the strongest package. However, the Milton Keynes team, along with the engine partners, Honda, was able to build a car that could challenge Lewis Hamilton. As a result, Max Verstappen was able to beat the then-reigning champion with a bit of luck favoring him in 2021. However, since 2022, when the new cost cap era started, the Dutch racer unleashed himself as the most dominant driver in the grid.
Red Bull went on to be the most dominant team again. However, they could not claim to have the strongest driver’s package as in an equally strong duo. In the last two years, Verstappen won the lion’s share of races for Christian Horner’s team. On the other hand, Sergio Perez won only two races in 2022, then again two in 2023, and so far, no wins in 2024. Due to his inconsistency, Red Bull could dismiss him, but the F1 owners, as per reports, asked them to reconsider Checo’s dismissal.
Why Red Bull Had To Reconsider The Dismissal Of Sergio Perez?
Recently, The Dutch Telegraph reported that Red Bull decided to retain Checo despite recent struggles following a pre-summer break meeting. This Red Bull’s decision has surprised many experts and fans. In the last nine races, the Mexican driver has been off-color. As a result, Horner’s team had to face issues to maintain lead in the constructor championship. Checo’s poor performance really hampered the Milton Keynes outfit’s championship run to a great extent. In Belgium, Checo started from second but finished to P8 (later, it was P7). This performance sparked intense criticism about his Red Bull future, especially the chats on the paddock suggested that. Despite this uncertainty, an F1 insider reported that ‘Liberty Media,’ the F1 rights holder, asked Christian Horner and his team to reconsider “Checo’s dismissal.”
The Formula 1 rights holder fears that without Sergio Perez, a popular hero, there would be an extreme drop of revenue on October 27 at the Mexican Grand Prix. Notably, Checo has played a significant role in boosting F1’s popularity in Mexico and also across South America. Horner’s team is trying to use its star power to spread its influence over the South American region. But so far, there have been no comments from Liberty Media and Red Bull about these claims. However, Checo will remain as the teammate of Verstappen until the end of the ongoing season.
Former Dutch F1 Racer Said, “Checo’s Retention Is Unbelievable”
If the reports are true then the Mexican driver is staying at Red Bull for the remainder of the current season. But this decision did not sit well with a former Red Bull racer. Giedo van der Garde told the DRS Podcast that he finds the decision “Unbelievable.” Moreover, Garde added that this choice does not seem to be Red Bull-like.
If some drivers don’t perform, Horner’s team does not give them a long chance. The former F1 driver feels that after the first four races of the season, Checo performed dramatically. Things could not have been better for him. But Garde thinks if Perez started second at Spa and then finished seventh, “The speed was simply bad.”
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