Former F1 driver and commissioner Johnny Herbert admits he doesn’t understand that Christian Horner wanted to keep Sergio Perez at Red Bull, which is “confusing” according to him.
The news finally came in two parts: the Mexican was ousted yesterday, due to lack of sufficient performance despite the well-documented driving difficulties of the Red Bull RB20, and Liam Lawson will replace him, the announcement having been made this Morning.
Red Bull were unable to retain their constructors’ title because of the Mexican’s results and, despite a contract extension earlier this year, confidence never returned for Perez.
“There seems to have been a desire at Red Bull to give him another chance, which I don’t really understand,” comments Herbert today.
“We got to a point where it just didn’t happen. I understand he wanted to race against the best in Max, but it didn’t really work out. This year it happened. arrested.”
Perez claimed to have turned down external offers, exit leads from Red Bull, although Herbert doubts those offers will come from top teams.
“Has he received any other offers? Potentially, but very early in the season, when things were still pretty much going for him. But are these teams that would give him a chance to win a race? Absolutely not.”
“Horner seemed to want to keep him, which I find confusing, because when he extended, the slope was already not good for Perez.”
Red Bull therefore has the ambition to return to the top with Lawson. For this, Max Verstappen’s new teammate will have to immediately be much better than Perez.
“Everyone who watches F1 knows that every team needs two good drivers today.”
“Ferrari will have two next year with Lewis and Charles, Lando and Oscar at McLaren are doing very well, Kimi and George at Mercedes seem like a good potential duo. Red Bull needs two people who can be there . Max was the only one to get the big points for the manufacturers.”
But Max Verstappen must share blame for Perez’s struggles at Red Bull during the 2024 F1 season.
This is the opinion of former F1 team owner Eddie Jordan, who claimed that Verstappen had “puts pressure” on Red Bull team principal Christian Horner to keep Perez rather than seek a deal with Carlos Sainz.
“I’m embarrassed for Checo, because I like the guy. He’s a great person to be around.”
“But you’re telling me he was fighting for his place in the team for next year? There was no chance with all the media pressure and his results. But I blame the team and Max.”
“I know Max put pressure on Christian. He didn’t want Carlos Sainz in the car. He wanted Checo in the car, because he knew he could beat him.”
“And to be honest, Max just needs to think about it a little. Christian needs to think about it.”
“They will deny it, but I just think there was a situation where it was easier to keep Checo in the car rather than considering a position where it could be better for the team and they would get a title manufacturers next year.”
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