Sergio Perez has been at the receiving end since the Miami GP. His downturn has hurt Red Bull’s world title aspirations. Further, Checo’s slump has opened space for McLaren to chase down the table-toppers. Thus, there is tension among the RBR management as their decision to retain Perez has backfired.
However, the veteran racer is optimistic that he will make a solid comeback after the summer break. At the same time, he reflected on the Belgium GP, which was a complete flop show for the Bulls. But why is Checo in a rut, and is it the sole reason for Red Bull’s worry?
Checo’s Misery And RB20’s Technical Woes Continues To Hurt Red Bull
Red Bull Racing’s winning run has been cut short by rivals. Team McLaren is in the form of their lives, as everything is working for them. Mercedes, which had a long time figuring out the W15’s woes, has finally emerged as a stiff competitor. Despite Red Bull Racing’s triple champion being far ahead of the competition, the team is only 42 points ahead of McLaren. The Milton Keyenss-based outfit was unstoppable at the beginning of the 2024 season.
However, the RBR storm was tamed by McLaren, Ferrari, and now Mercedes. Thus, all the focus is on Chco, which has failed to finish above the seventh spot since the Miami GP. Moreover, to make matters worse, he has only scored 28 points since May. In contrast, his teammate Max Verstappen has scored 141 points during the same timeline. Therefore, it has given an outside chance to the chasing packs to overtake the defending champions.
After the Spa race, Perez interacted with the media, reflecting on the Belgium GP. However, he was in no mood to discuss his F1 future, which at that time was in the midst of nowhere. Checo started his race from P2 but lost the momentum at the midway mark, finishing at P7. Thus, he dubbed the Belgian GP as a ‘really bad race.’ Further, he highlighted the complication in the second stint on medium compounds. Moreover, the Mexican racer pointed out the degradation of the tyres, making it difficult to race. As a result, he had to make several visits to the pit stop, allowing others to cut in.
Subsequently, Perez discussed the lack of pace, which was another reason for a terrible outing. The RB20 has been vulnerable in the last few races, losing pace and balance. When asked about his future, Perez initially refused to reply. However, he affirmed that this is the last time he has acknowledged this question and confirmed his future with Red Bull. Thus, his focus is to take a break, regroup with the team, and start fresh.
Perez’s Red Bull Seat Confirmed For The Remainder Of 2024
All the eyes were on Red Bull’s Monday meetings, which involved all the key personnel. While it was a regular meeting ahead of the summer break, the biggest concern was Checo’s place in the team. However, brushing off all the speculations, RBR confirmed the 34-year-old driver would continue to race with the team. Now, Perez aims to prove to his team that their trust in him was justified.
