Not long ago, Sergio Perez openly acknowledged being relaxed about his future in Formula 1, especially amid ever-growing pressure to deliver at Red Bull Racing. The Mexican felt he could re-ignite his form and subsequently up his chances of retaining the seat alongside Max Verstappen. However, things haven’t really gone his way since his rather laid-back response to the criticisms.
After a brief spell of decent showing in the Netherlands, Perez has slowly drifted back to his horrendous form, with the recent Qatar Grand Prix peaking as one of his worst weekends of 2023. The visibly struggling Red Bull Driver was nowhere near his optimal performance level throughout the weekend, and to make it all worse, he was lapped by his own teammate in the race.
But, wait, it’s not over yet! To top it all, Perez was among the fewest drivers to be hit with nearly three-time penalties for exceeding the track limits. This ultimately forced Perez to acquire just one point out of Sunday’s main race.
Now confirmed as Perez gets a final five-second time penalty for track limits and drops to P10 behind Zhou #F1 #QatarGP https://t.co/9fT6NodIti
— Chris Medland (@ChrisMedlandF1) October 8, 2023
Now, thanks to the recent turn of events, the calmness in Checo has yet again disappeared, making way for the much-feared sense of agitation. What’s more, Dr. Helmut Marko even publicly called out Perez’s recent outing in Qatar as “shocking“, acknowledging his disappointment. What hurts is that Perez was once regarded as an underdog of F1, but, right now, the term, underdog, feels like an overstatement.
Helmut Marko shuns the recent Sergio Perez form with one word
Helmut Marko hardly seemed pleased with Perez’s outing and did not choose to hide his disappointment. The Austrian opined that Perez should’ve been more careful about the track limits after excessive breaches of rules cost Red Bull crucial points in the battle for P2 in the championship. “In between there were fast laps again [in Qatar], but it doesn’t help if you get ten-second penalties,” he said.
🚨 | Helmut Marko says Sergio Perez’s performance in Qatar was “shocking.”
He stresses that Checo must improve before the end of 2023:https://t.co/LkTmpLTnQP
— formularacers (@formularacers_) October 9, 2023
“As long as we didn’t have a consistent one [in the races]. had pursuers. But now it becomes critical when two such strong drivers are in the McLaren. I hope we can save second place [in the World Championship].” Overall, there can’t be a better season for Red Bull to accomplish three of their biggest desires in a single go.
With both the championship titles in the bag, Red Bull has one target to accomplish – finish 1-2 in the drivers’ championship standings. Unfortunately, the chances of Perez fulfilling Red Bull’s is gradually reducing, with Lewis Hamilton and others inching closer to the Mexican. But, can Perez somehow keep his rivals at bay?