Red Bull 'Must Be Careful' To Extract Best Out Of Perez Warns Klien

Monday, 25 December 2023 at 09:00

Former Red Bull Racing driver Christian Klien warned other teams are closing the gap to the Championship leader.

Christian Klien lately warned Mercedes might have a chance of a comeback, and when they do, Lewis Hamilton should not be underestimated by Red Bull and Max Verstappen.

The former F1 driver also brought up George Russell's strengths as he said the Silver Arrows have one of the best driver lineups on the grid at the moment. As reported by RacingNews365, he said:

"They have one of the best lineups, especially in terms of experience. McLaren also has a very good lineup. I'm really curious about [Oscar] Piastri next year."

Read also

Verstappen Identifies Most Threatening Team To Red Bull For Next Year

McLaren's 2023 lineup consists of Lando Norris, who is now experienced and considered one of the best drivers on the grid, and Piastri, who showed outstanding performances during his first season in F1.

"I've been talking to Mark Webber [Piastri's manager] about Oscar regularly, and he too can't wait to see what his driver can show in 2024."

Piastri came quite close to breaking Hamilton's record for most points scored in the rookie season and became the Rookie of the Year. Klien continued:

"Piastri has already shown what he has to offer, how steep his learning curve is, really great. He still lacks the race experience to understand all three types of tires."

Scuderia Ferrari also has one of the strongest and most matched driver duos on the grid. Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz finished the 2023 season only 6 points apart.

If the three above-mentioned teams managed to catch up with Red Bull in terms of the pace of their cars, the team from Milton Keynes might be in trouble if both of its drivers didn't perform at their best.

Sergio Perez has had a challenging season in 2023. Therefore, the former F1 driver warned Red Bull must be careful next year to ensure the Mexican driver performs at his best.

“Ferrari should not be forgotten either when we talk about the lineup. Both drivers are very good. So Red Bull must be careful and get the best out of [Sergio] Perez because the other teams are narrowing the gap."