Mexico City.- The crisis that Sergio Pérez is going through in 2024 could be reason enough for Red Bull to clip his wings.
It is no secret that the Austrians measure their drivers by results, so if they do not comply they are sent to their sister team, Visa Cash App RB, or fired, as happened at the time with Daniil Kvyat, Pierre Gasly and Alex Albon.
In 2023, Checo went through a period of ups and downs in Monaco, Spain, Canada, Austria and Great Britain – the same races in which he has currently suffered, not counting Emilia-Romagna – by struggling in the Qualys and on Sundays.
Although there was talk of a possible replacement, the energy drinks team gave him enough time to recover because the Constructors’ Championship was not at risk.
With a car like the RB19 dominating 21 of the 22 tracks visited, the Mexican could afford to bet on classic comebacks and did not have to worry about his rivals, since they were not in a position to fight wheel to wheel.
The situation changed in 2024 as McLaren, Ferrari and Mercedes became closer to each other with the developments of their cars and, by scoring more points with their full line-ups, something that is no longer common in the Red Bull garage.
The RB20 has lost its edge, having conceded five of its 12 possible wins so far, it is no longer as fast and its performance in terms of tyre management and attacking the kerbs at some circuits has diminished.
Will Checo be able to overcome this bad streak and finish his contract until 2026 or will he change direction before the end of 2024?
The antecedent (2016)
For Max Verstappen to join Red Bull, one of the regulars had to leave.
Daniil Kvyat has not fully fitted into the Milton Keynes structure since he arrived in 2015 and, for the following campaign, he only managed 21 points compared to his teammate Daniel Ricciardo’s 37 in four races, so he was demoted to Toro Rosso.
Albon for Gasly (2019)
Following Daniel Ricciardo’s departure to Renault in 2019, the energy drinks team looked for a replacement to accompany Verstappen, so they trusted Frenchman Pierre Gasly.
However, it was his debut and farewell, as he only completed 12 of the 21 scheduled races and collected 36 points.
Albon, relegated (2021)
Alex Albon’s numbers were not enough to convince Red Bull.
In the nine races he competed in in 2019, after replacing Gasly, he reached 76 points, but there were no podiums or victories, neither that year nor in 2020.
For 2021 he was designated as reserve driver and his seat was occupied by Sergio Pérez.
They repeat customs (2023)
The rules dictated by the top brass at Milton Keynes must be followed by the satellite team (Toro Rosso/AlphaTauri/Visa Cash App RB).
The most recent case was that of Nyck de Vries in 2023, who had a clean slate in the first 10 rounds and was fired after the British GP. He was replaced by Daniel Ricciardo.
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