Perez on the grill
Sergio Perez’s grave mistakewhich saw him cause a red flag in Q1 at Silverstone, and which will force him to start on the last row, has certified the difficult moment that the Mexican pilot is experiencing. It is no coincidence that in recent days rumours have intensified about a possible mid-season replacement with Daniel Ricciardowith Red Bull potentially triggering a performance clause in his recently extended contract until 2026.
And if the words of Helmut Marko (“You can see in his every gesture how much pressure he is under.” to Sky Germany) are not surprising, even Christian Horner he didn’t seem to be so conciliatory with Perez anymore: “Going out in Q1 is not something we can afford. Nobody is more disappointed than him. There is not much else to say. Checo is our rider and we want to continue with him, but he has to recover from tomorrow”.
Ricciardo hopes
In four of the last six qualifiers Daniel Ricciardo was faster than Sergio Perez, a result that put the Australian back in the game, also due to a substitution of the Mexican on the fly. Ricciardo commented on the rumours after qualifying: “I would never make predictions in this sport. I have the impression that year after year F1 is becoming bigger and bigger and more Hollywood-like, also as a narrative that accompanies this sport. It is truly unpredictable, crazy things happen. But I have no proof that I will be elsewhere, I am not in a position to say, think or predict what will happen. I focus on my own things”.
In all this, Perez tries to display calm: “My mistake has nothing to do with these rumours. I am absolutely focused on giving my best, I have to keep my head down and it is a matter of time for the situation to change. I have a contract and I have to think about the race. I want to get back in shape as soon as possible.”
Meanwhile Liam Lawson is also warming up, who will test the RB20 in the Silverstone tests next week. The New Zealander could in fact fit into this market scenario, finding a steering wheel in Racing Bulls and thus avoiding the contractual clause of a farewell to Red Bull in the event of a failure to reach F1.
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