Hakkinen Explains How Perez Slows Red Bull's Car Development

Thursday, 05 September 2024 at 14:00

Double F1 World Champion Mike Hakkinen discussed how Sergio Perez slows Red Bull Racing's car development.

Red Bull's start to the 2024 season looked like a continuation of the dominance we've seen in 2023. Their car looked so dominant in the first two races that many wondered whether Max Verstappen would go on to win every single weekend.

Jump to present, the triple World Champion has not won any of the last six Grand Prix races and has stood on the podium only twice.

In Italy, Red Bull had the fourth fastest car and might be overtaken by McLaren in the Constructors Championship during the next race weekend in Azerbaijan.

Something has clearly gone wrong with the development of their car, and while there are surely multiple factors, Mika Hakkinen suggested Sergio Perez might be one of them. He explained to Unibet:

"Two drivers are naturally competing each other before they start competing others. And this case, the gap between Max and Sergio has been increasing constantly."

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"And what that means is you don't get the data, you don't get the information from both cars to able to develop the car as quick as what is required."

If Red Bull only had reliable information from one car, their competitors, like McLaren, Mercedes, and Ferrari, would have twice as much with two equally matched top drivers each. Hakkinen continued:

"Sergio Perez has not been able the deliver this for the Red Bull team. And it has been influencing the success. This has been a very negative thing."

"He has been there a long time. He had the chance to study himself, to understand himself, what does he need to be the number one. And he has failed to do that."

As it stands, Sergio Perez has a contract for 2025, but his future with the team from Milton Keynes is uncertain. Red Bull planned to announce what happens with Liam Lawson in September, and this announcement will perhaps also indicate the 34-year-old's future.