Marko explains Perez decision: 'Best option given alternatives'
F1 News
It was announced last week that Perez will be allowed to finish the season at Red Bull Racing after all. The Austrian racing stable's team advisor Helmut Marko substantiated the decision in his weekly column for Speedweek. According to Marko, the Mexican driver does not necessarily need to become faster, but rather to show improvement by showing more consistency.
The experienced Austrian expects Perez to produce better results soon. "There are now some circuits coming up where Perez did well last year and we are now focusing on stability. Meanwhile, he has also shown some good things, on Saturday at Spa he was fast," Marko said.
Marko explains why Perez could stay
However, the race in Belgium went less well for the man from Guadalajara, although he started second, he eventually finished seventh after George Russell's disqualification. "According to our calculations, a third place was possible, but we saw that the tyres degredation was too fast, so he couldn't push. Moreover, we only had one set of hard tyres left, which was perhaps the decisive point."
"Perez doesn't need to get faster, but more consistent. He is still our best option, given the possible alternatives. Reports claiming that we chose Perez because Liberty Media (owners of Formula 1) insisted on it are not true. They would like Perez to drive his home race in Mexico, but we are not basing our courer choice on Liberty's wishes," Marko said
Marko clear on Lawson
Marko concludes his account of transfer rumours at Red Bull with an update on test driver Liam Lawson, who hopes a spot for him in Formula 1 will soon become available. "In September we will announce what happens to Liam Lawson. It had long been our intention that he would gain more experience kilometres at Imola. Even if the competition wants to use him on a loan, he is not available for that."
This article was written in collaboration with Kada Sarkozi