To say that Sergio Perez has had a rough season would be an understatement. Perez has been the victim of increased online hate due to his performance this season. With every race, there are calls for him to be demoted or dropped from Red Bull Racing (RBR) altogether as some fans believe that RBR should promote their other drivers such as Yuki Tsunoda, Daniel Riccardo, or Liam Lawson.
However, with Max Verstappen falling 22 seconds behind Lando Norris at Zandvoort and placing 6th at Monza, it is becoming increasingly clear that there is something wrong with the cars. Both RBR drivers have been saying there are issues with the car but are the issues with Perez’s car what’s to blame? Or has he passed his peak? To quote the great Toto Wolff: “No you change your car because Checo has been saying the car is...”
With the lackluster results from Max Verstappen, compared to his usual racing results and history, more news about Perez and his issues is coming to light.
After Monza, both drivers spoke to the media about their cars and had much to say about how they felt the rest of the season would go. In his Italian Grand Prix post-race interview, Verstappen said “I mean if we don’t change anything on the car, it’s all going to be bad from now onwards until the end of the season". Verstappen also mentioned that he feels like at the moment, 'both championships are not realistic.' Had McLaren placed 1-2 at Monza, they would have overtaken RBR for the Constructors’ Championship. McLaren is currently in second place with a slim gap of 8 points behind in the Constructor’s with Norris in second place with 62 points between him and Verstappen.
With RB20 (RBR’s current car) seemingly on the outs, could McLaren win it all as they seem to currently have the better car?
In Perez’s Italian Grand Prix post-race interview, he said that Verstappen had come into 'similar issues' that he had been experiencing for the past 10 races. In the first six races, the lowest Perez had placed was 5th. In the last 10 races, he has had two retirements with his highest placement being 6th and his lowest 17th. Throughout the entire season, Perez finished 21/23 races with two DNFs (Did Not Finish). His lowest position of the season? 16th. Comparing Perez’s average positions after 16 races in 2023 (3.5) and 2024 (18), the issues with RB20 have finally reached a crest. Perez is currently in P7 for the Drivers’ Championship (compared to finishing second last year).
Perez’s struggles this season have been well documented with his contract extension being a highly debated topic. His previous racing experiences have been tossed aside for some to proclaim him as aging and washed up. While no one can debate that Perez is getting older, he is younger than four other drivers and is only 34. As for the washed-up claims, it is undeniable that he has had a rough season. However, the real question is not “What is going on with Sergio Perez’s car?” it’s “Why did no one care about the problems going on with Sergio Perez’s car until now?” The answer? Max Verstappen’s race results.
Now that Verstappen is having the same issues, people are starting to reevaluate their feelings about Perez’s current standings at RBR in terms of whether or not he should be demoted/replaced. One may think that because Verstappen has been the more dominant driver at RBR for three years, RBR simply stopped caring about Perez. If RBR has known about these issues all along (they have), why haven’t they fixed them? Or better yet, why wouldn’t they have cleared Perez’s name in the media? Would Red Bull have allowed these issues to go on for as long as they did if it was Verstappen’s car having them from the 6th race on?
With Verstappens car seemingly on the outs, only time will tell if Perez has been misunderstood or mismanaged.
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