Having Perez Around Deemed 'Unsustainable' For Red Bull By Schumacher
F1Friday, 12 April 2024 at 00:30
Former F1 driver Ralf Schumacher stated after the 2024 Japanese Grand Prix that having Sergio Perez around is not sustainable for Red Bull.
Sergio Perez is currently having one of the best starts to the season in his career. According to Helmut Marko, he has undoubtedly had the best start ever since he joined Red Bull.
The Mexican driver had to rethink his approach to racing ahead of the season and went through a big reset following the underwhelming 2023.
It was critical for him more than ever before to make an improvement in 2024, as his seat in the team from Milton Keynes is on the line.
Even if Red Bull decides not to continue with Checo, he needs to show strong performance to remain a strong candidate for other teams on the grid.
During the first four races of the season, he has mostly achieved what the Austrian team wants from him: to finish at least second behind Max Verstappen.
Perez scored three second-place finishes and one fifth-place finish, and according to former F1 driver Karun Chandhok, he is currently making a good argument for Red Bull to keep him at least until 2025.
Another former F1 driver, Ralf Schumacher, looks at it from a more long-term perspective and suggests that Red Bull will need two drivers performing at the top level one day.
However, the problem he sees is that Perez is far from the top level (if we consider Verstappen to be top-level) during every single race. He told Sky Germany:
"If everything goes well, he can stay close to Max Verstappen. In the race it is as if they are both from a different planet while they are in the same car. It is unsustainable for the team."
Some other drivers that Red Bull might want to consider are Carlos Sainz, Yuki Tsunoda, and Fernando Alonso, who stood out the most during the first four races of the season.
While the 42-year-old just announced his contract extension with Aston Martin, Sainz and Tsunoda are still available. Red Bull claims that it will resist the pressure of the driver market and delay its decision at least until summer.
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