Perez not convincing enough: 'Then Red Bull really has a problem'
Christijan Albers thinks Red Bull could still have a problem this season because of Perez. The former Formula 1 driver argues that the Austrian constructor got away with the Mexican as its second driver last season, but with the competition getting closer and closer, things could still get tricky for Red Bull.
At Imola, Max Verstappen won with difficulty, but Perez finished only eighth. "I'm surprised every time that they don't see that (that a good second teammate is needed for Red Bull, ed.). I wonder how that analysis is then made at Red Bull internally," Albers began in the TelegraafFormula 1 podcast.
Albers on Perez
"Now you've continuously had that supremacy, that you've built a good car, and then Max is just at the front, with a possibility that Perez also puts him on the front row, well very often that didn't work out. But what happens now, and I've been calling this for two or three seasons, that you're no longer in the luxury position, then you do have a real problem, because then he just lacks the speed. And so then you see at once that he is no longer there. And so then you just really have a problem."
Perez's contract at Red Bull Racing expires at the end of this season, but the driver from Guadalajara already said he was confident of an extension. However, time will tell whether the driver with number 11 on the car will also finally get a piece of paper to sign.
This article was written in collaboration with Sophia Crothall.