F1 News
Brundle on why Perez stays: 'Verstappen would break a young drivers head'
The British Grand Prix was another poor weekend for Max Verstappen's teammate Sergio Perez who has scored 15 points in his last six races. Although the Mexican has signed a two-year extension with Red Bull, questions are being raised over whether this was the right decision. Speaking on the Sky Sports F1 podcast, Martin Brundle explained why the team have decided to keep him, and who he thinks could become a potential replacement should he not perform.
Last season, Red Bull were evidently the dominant team, winning all but one race across the season. However, this year, this is not the case, with three other teams also winning races. On the podcast, Brundle stated Perez's performance was "painful to watch" after he finished P17 at Silverstone. The pressure has also certainly increased for the Red Bull driver, as Ferrari, McLaren, and now Mercedes, close the gap between the top teams.
"When they had a totally dominant car, he could be a couple of three-tenths of max. There was nobody to fill the gap. Now there are two McLarens, now two Mercedes-Benz, and from time to time some Ferraris to fill the gap between him and his teammate. And that's putting him under pressure. And that pressure is then just making it far worse. And he's having incidents left, right and centre," Brundle explained.
In the past, Red Bull have not been hasty when it comes to Verstappen's teammate. Once before, Pierre Gasly and Alex Albon have both been replaced for their poor performance, despite performing better than Perez currently is. Nevertheless, Brundle believes there is an explanation for the team not axing the Mexican just yet, "We know he's commercially attractive to them," he said. "With the sponsorship, with Red Bull's commerciality in North and South America, with the Mexican Grand Prix yet to come, would you really not want Sergio Perez on the grid? So that's the balancing point If he was driver 'b' and had none of that commerciality or nationality or whatever mattered they would have replaced him wouldn't they, let's be honest."
Who could replace Perez at Red Bull?
Despite Perez bringing a range of sponsors, and having an impressive 2023 season, finishing second in the Driver's standings, Brundle does believe Red Bull might have to make some decisions soon. However, this won't be an easy decision, "It's a head-scratcher for Red Bull, and that explains why they re-signed Sergio Perez," Brundle revealed. It seems that Yuki Tsunoda will not make step up any time soon, and "Daniel [Ricciardo] is under pressure for his seat let alone being rewarded moving up to the the top team," said Brundle.
Nevertheless, the former racing driver, believes there is one suitable candidate: Liam Lawson, who is testing the latest car this week. "The trouble is for a young driver that Verstappen just breaks their head because he's so fast and he can handle a car that's a little bit lively in a high speed corner. Max likes a car all over the front end and [Lawson] has the talent to cope with that so that's worth trying," Brundle suggested. "So, I would put Lawson in it if they're going to put anybody in and see what he can do. They can try and manage his head; he seems quite strong."