Sergio Perez had perhaps the last chance to prove that he is not a driver at the end of the line, at least as far as Red Bull’s ambitions are concerned, but at the Belgian Grand Prix he not only ruined an excellent qualifying, but also gave his team another reason to question him even more.
Starting from second place alongside poleman Leclerc, Perez was unable to attack the number 16 Ferrari on the Kemmel and was even overtaken by the number 44 Mercedes W15, driven by Lewis Hamilton, who would later win the race due to George Russell’s disqualification.
A terrible race, that of Perez, which inspired the usual vitriolic commentary by Helmut Marko. The Red Bull consultant did not spare the umpteenth dig at the Mexican, guilty of not having capitalized on an excellent starting position and having finished in an anonymous seventh place, even behind Max Verstappen who started tenth.
“Sergio had the opportunity to bring home a good result starting from second position. Unfortunately he didn’t manage to do it. Especially in the last stint, he completely collapsed. He started lapping in 1’48”. What we saw positively in qualifying, unfortunately, was not repeated in the race”.
Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing RB20
Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
“For us the situation is such that we will also look at the overall situation for next season, 2025. We have a certain number of drivers and we have a concept. But of course every result is important for Sergio, and seventh place from second on the grid is certainly not what we expected.”
In short, the last card was put on the table by the Mexican, and it was played badly. This morning the team’s top brass will meet to make important decisions about the present and the future. Among the discussions will certainly be the position of Checo, who, barring sensational surprises, has more than one foot out of the Milton Keynes team.
At the end of the race, Perez spoke about his problems in a race that had him as the negative protagonist: “A terrible race. I started well, but on the straights I struggled. I don’t know what happened, but in the first two laps I started to have to save the batteries and it was a real problem on the straights. In the first stint, however, I wasn’t far from Hamilton and Leclerc”.
“The second stint I did on the Mediums was very very difficult. It was also very short. And the Mediums were not the right tyres in the race. We were off the pace. The balance was also not right. There are many things to analyse, but I am confident. I think I will be regularly in my place in Zandvoort”, concluded the Mexican.
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