Red Bull Racing was undoubtedly the team to beat this Formula One season. With the beast that the engineers produced, the RB19, the drink-based outfits were nearly invincible. Besides the Singapore Grand Prix, the team won every race on the calendar. While Max Verstappen breezed through in his RB19, his teammate Sergio Perez surprisingly struggled.
Despite being provided with the same machinery, Sergio Perez finished 200+ points behind his Red Bull teammate Max Verstappen in championship standing. He barely held onto the P2 spot as Lewis Hamilton missed out by less than 20 points. Having said that, ahead of the 2024 season, Checo has been asked to stay wary of competition by a Sky Sports F1 pundit.
Karun Chandhok Claims Lack Of Competitiveness On Grid-Aided Checo’s P2 Finish!
While Sergio Perez kicked off the 2023 F1 season on a high, he struggled with consistency. The key area of struggle was his qualifying pace. Checo managed to grab only one top-four finish in his past 17 Grand Prix. Moreover, only a couple of times this season did Sergio manage to out-qualify his teammate Verstappen. However, despite the challenges, the Red Bull driver managed to hold on to P2 in the drivers’ championship standing. However, Sky Sports F1 pundit Karun Chandhok believes that perhaps Checo got lucky due to a lack of competitiveness from Bull’s immediate competitors. Ferrari, Mercedes, and McLaren lacked the desired pace to challenge the beast RB19.
However, with Max Verstappen and Christian Horner expecting an increased competitive edge in 2024, Chandhok has issued a caution for Sergio Perez. “I think the pressure will ramp up on that second Red Bull to be outperforming the Ferraris and Mercedes. And the Astons and the McLarens, and maybe the Alpines,” says Karun. He feels that if Checo is unable to handle this year’s pressure, his troubles are only going to increase in the upcoming season. Having said that, Perez’s contract with Red Bull will expire by the end of the 2024 season. His future beyond that purely lies in his performance in the impending season. To further add to Checo’s misery, Daniel Ricciardo is breathing down on his neck to replace him the second he gets a chance. Overall, Sergio Perez’s motorsport career stands in jeopardy at the moment.
Red Bull Wizard Adrian Newey To Produce A Better Car Than RB19!
While the rivals are working to reduce the gap to Red Bull, the drink-based team is leaving no stone unturned in maintaining its competitive edge over its peers. Recently, the team’s renowned engineer and aerodynamicist Adrian Newey revealed how he has never been satisfied with RB19’s work and pace.
He says that while Red Bull shattered numerous records, in hindsight, he sees a wide area of improvement. “We’ve had this fantastic season, broken barriers, records, or whatever. The reality is, there are things with the car that we feel can be improved,” said Newey. If such is the case, the rivals need to stay wary of the drink-based outfit’s progress next season.
