Red Bull Don't Want Perez 'To Get Too Close' To Verstappen Says Doohan

Thursday, 14 March 2024 at 01:30

Updated at Thursday, 14 March 2024 at 13:04

Alpine's reserve driver, Jack Doohan, discussed Sergio Perez's chances of getting a seat in Red Bull if he can keep up his current performance level.

The 2024 season is probably the most critical in the career of Red Bull Racing F1 driver Sergio Perez. He is under immense pressure to perform, and his career in the Austrian team is on the line.

His contract with Red Bull expires at the end of this season, but both Helmut Marko and Christian Horner suggested they will consider him for the seat if he can improve in relation to Max Verstappen.

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During the season's first two races, Checo scored two second places and completed two one-two finishes for his team. Discussing whether the level of performance that the 34-year-old has shown so far is enough to keep the seat, Jack Doohan told F1 Nation:

"I think, for now, he's doing enough. While that Red Bull has that substantial gap over the rest of the field, he's doing enough. We can see he's trailing, potentially between two to four tenths away from Max."

The Mexican driver finished 22.457 seconds behind the triple World Champion during the Bahrain Grand Prix and 8.643 seconds during the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix (he received a 5-second penalty after the race, so the final gap was 13.643 seconds).

Doohan suggests that this scenario suits Red Bull as long as they have the dominant car. However, the team might encounter some problems when someone else will be able to match their pace.

"When the field does, and I hope finally, close up on that Red Bull and that gap closes down to one or two-tenths, Checo [Perez] is going to have to close up and he's going to have to really try and get more out of that Red Bull to really make sure that he's keeping that one-two."

In the end, the Australian driver argued that Red Bull doesn't even want Perez to match the pace of his teammate, and that might be why his current performances will be enough to secure a seat for 2025.

"He's making sure that he's keeping them and the car in the window where he's able to keep a healthy lead in the Constructors' and do what they want him to do. They don't want him to get too close to Max but, for right now, he's doing what he needs to do."