F1 News
Debate | Perez cannot possibly escape from this downward spiral
The second free practice session was less than four minutes old, and Sergio Perez was in the wall. The Mexican took the blame, but the pressure seems to be mounting by the week. Can the tide still be turned for Max Verstappen's teammate? Today's GPblog debate reads as follows: Perez cannot possibly escape from this downward spiral at Red Bull Racing.
Pressure at Red Bull
Perez is not the first to experience it at Red Bull. Within Red Bull's junior team, it is all about winning, and within the F1 teams it is no different. If you are the best within Red Bull Racing or AlphaTauri, you are celebrated, if you aren't, you are openly criticised. This starts small but gets worse and worse.
This means that few drivers have managed to get out of this downward spiral. Daniil Kvyat is the best example. After one year at Toro Rosso, he was promoted too early to Red Bull Racing. At Toro Rosso, things got worse and worse. He was given a second chance in 2019, but we never saw the old Kvyat again.
The same happened to Pierre Gasly. He moved on to Red Bull Racing after one year too soon, cast aside after only six months. He was not given a second chance at Red Bull, and that was eating away at him. Alexander Albon did get that chance after six months at Toro Rosso, but he returned disappointed after a year and a half.
Whereas drivers at other teams are sometimes protected (too much), at Red Bull, they are very honest. This has the advantage that everyone knows where they stand, the disadvantage is that people who are uncomfortable with it will not get out easily either.
The downward spiral for Perez
Sergio Perez is one such example. The Mexican has been beaten since Max Verstappen's performance in Miami and then made mistake after mistake. Five times he has already failed to get through to Q3, and in the meantime, he has seen Daniel Ricciardo make his comeback at AlphaTauri. If the pressure wasn't already high, this makes it all the more so.
How do you get out of such a negative spiral, when everyone inside (and outside) Red Bull are almost hoping Ricciardo will return to his old team? Verstappen himself reiterated that he never wanted Ricciardo to leave in the first place. Ricciardo himself makes no secret of it either: he wants to go to Red Bull Racing, and given AlphaTauri's performance, preferably as soon as possible.
Of course, it will depend on Ricciardo's performance at AlphaTauri, but where the Australian is celebrated and can do almost nothing wrong, there is a huge magnifying glass on Perez. Any mistake could be his last for Red Bull Racing.
Let us know in the poll and comments if you think Perez can still turn the tide!