In Canada, Sergio Pérez’s weekend once again ended with an apology. Public, this time: “I’m really sorry for my teamwrote the Red Bull driver after a second retirement in as many Grand Prix. I dropped them today.” On the Gilles-Villeneuve circuit, as in Monaco two weeks earlier, Max Verstappen’s teammate started his races at the back of the grid and finished them in the wall.
An absolutely chaotic form, while the extension of his contract for two additional seasons was announced after the Grand Prix in the Principality at the beginning of June. The festive weekend then turned into a nightmare: lagging behind in the streets of Monaco, his second elimination in Q1 over the last two editions had left him speechless. “What a fucking joke” he was surprised in the car.
And in front of the press, everything was good to clear himself of the poor performance: “The tires weren’t working, I couldn’t get into the rhythm and during my timed lap, I had traffic in turns 6 and 7. There was some sort of sticker in Turn 7 is truly disastrous. We only needed a few tenths to get through to Q2 but we didn’t have the pace“The next day, he didn’t even make it past the first lap of a race that he knew in advance.”hopeless” and had to retire after a huge crash on the second straight.
Caught up by Ferrari and McLaren
Result: the Mexican is only fifth in the world championship after a third of the season. And above all, Ferrari and McLaren, increasingly close to Red Bull in racing, are also getting closer to the Austrian team in the world championship. Over the last three Grand Prix, McLaren has scored 88 points in total, compared to 65 for Ferrari and 62 for Red Bull, including only 4 for Pérez.
Red Bull under pressure: “It’s almost a good surprise”
However, before the Canadian Grand Prix, team principal Christian Horner was still convinced that the Mexican was the right driver for his project: “This is the best duo we’ve had at Red Bull Racinghe replied to Canal+ in the purest newspeak of an embarrassed sports director. They finished first and second last season, and we won both constructors’ titles. He also played an important role in Max’s title in 2021, he is an important member of the team.”
A few hours later, Sergio Pérez slipped on a wet part of the Montreal asphalt and destroyed his rear wing before giving up again. Enough to invalidate, already, the comments made by its leader and further call into question the extension of his contract, at a time when Red Bull’s domination is no longer undivided.
The year is still long
Yuki Tsunoda was knocking on the door and finally seemed ready for this second seat. Carlos Sainz was available on the market and proved he could be an excellent lieutenant. But Sergio Pérez was retained for services rendered, and perhaps a little too much confidence in the Austrian clan in the domination of the RB20. When it comes time to take stock at the end of the season, isn’t Red Bull already in danger of regretting a choice far from having been made for lack of something better?
Sergio Pérez’s destroyed rear wing during the Canadian Grand Prix
Credit: Eurosport
And in his misfortune, Sergio Pérez even received a three-place penalty on the grid of the Spanish Grand Prix for having driven on the track with a car in a dangerous condition for the other drivers, leaving numerous pieces of carbon on the track . “These last two weekends have been difficult. We must pick ourselves up, raise our heads and learn. The year is still long” he said in despair at the microphone of Sky Sports after his incident.
In Barcelona, a circuit which has always been successful for Red Bull and where Max Verstappen remains on two consecutive victories, all eyes risk being focused on his Mexican teammate. “Hopefully we can be back at our best” he said in Canada, talking about the next Grand Prix. More than hope, Sergio Pérez must be back if he wants to continue to be a “important element” of his team, and retain the manufacturer’s title.
