In any team, a dominance like that exerted by Max Verstappen would disable whoever was occupying the other side of the workshop. In anyone except Red Bull, where the Dutchman and Checo Pérez got close to good at the start of the sprint race in Austria, a 24-lap bite that the intermittent rain turned into a round trip carnival for the part rear of the peloton. With water and without water, the usual man, Verstappen, won ahead of Pérez and Carlos Sainz. Fernando Alonso, for his part, finished fifth after escorting Lance Stroll (fourth) for several laps, his teammate at Aston Martin and son of Lawrence, the owner of the green car structure.
Pérez is under pressure and that was abundantly clear this Saturday in Spielberg, where the Mexican was once again left out of the third stage of the timed trial (Q3) while his neighbor settled in the pole position. The Jalisco pilot considered that he quotes her at sprint It could be the perfect tablao to show off and regain some confidence, but things didn’t end up going as expected because on the other side of the pulse was Verstappen, a true competitive beast who doesn’t take prisoners and doesn’t leave even crumbs. Both placed in the front row, the two Red Bull riders bumped each other’s elbows at the start and they were in no time at all to make a big fuss.
The current champion started out a little lazier than his rival, who won the position in the first few meters and faced the exit of the first corner in front. Lined up towards the semi-straight line that goes towards the hill of the Estiria layout, the dominator of the last two courses interpreted that his opponent sent him to step on the grass and that made him short-circuit, to the point of going for him in the next turn, the third. Upon reaching him, Verstappen pounced on the Guadalajara runner, who had no choice but to turn to Vienna so as not to crash. “He has taken Me out. What the fuck!” he blurted out. Mad Max, on the radio. “What’s wrong with Max?”, Complained, on his part, Pérez, who in the scuffle even lost second position, which ended up in the hands of Nico Hulkenberg, albeit momentarily. The 21 seconds that the winner took from his partner are the most obvious indication of the difference between the two at the moment. “Everything went well except for the start, where we could have caused quite a ruckus. We’ll have to talk about it later,” Verstappen replied, still on the radio, just after being congratulated on the win. As soon as they got out of the car, the couple from the Milton Keynes (Great Britain) structure arranged things before speaking to journalists. “I think Max got angry after I threw him a bit in turn two. But I already told you that I didn’t see him. When I realized it, I returned the position to him in turn three ”, Pérez justified himself.
Despite driving the same car, the best on the entire grid by far, Verstappen, has a cushion of 70 points, almost three Grand Prix, over Pérez, who is going through one of his worst moments since he wore the racing suit. the team of the red buffalo. The two victories that Checo adds in this 2023 are dwarfed when measured against the six that the Hasselt boy accumulates. As if the contrast were not enough, the rumors about the possibility that the Central American seat is in danger are gaining strength day in and day out. Daniel Ricciardo’s shadow is very long, and his presence at the tire test to be held just after the British Grand Prix next week further fuels the uncertainty that may exist.
Above all, after Helmut Marko, one of the most influential sports advisers in the F1 division of the energy company, hinted that the test could be used to evaluate possible replacements for Pérez. “Czech has the seat. We all support you. Anyone who hints at a possible replacement is absolutely out of line ”, protects him Christian Horner, director of Red Bull. “The biggest pressure he has is the one he puts on himself. Here [en Austria] He has shown he has rhythm. In the first free trial she was up there, one tenth behind Max. That is what is frustrating for him, ”adds the executive, one of the main supporters of his incorporation. “Our frustration, on the other hand, is that we have the Ferrari closer and we only have one car [el de Verstappen]because the other is out of position”, the expilot concludes, referring to the opening of this Sunday (3:00 p.m., Dazn), in which Pérez will start 15th, a universe behind the positions that a priori will play victory .
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