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Brundle: 'A Perez in this form cannot take Red Bull to 2024'
- GPblog.com
Sergio Perez remains a topic of conversation. In qualifying for the United States Grand Prix, the Mexican once again failed to impress. On the contrary, with a ninth-place finish, he disappointed just like in Qatar. Martin Brundle argues that time is now really running out for Max Verstappen's team-mate.
Red Bull faces choice
Ahead of the weekend at the Circuit of the Americas, Brundle joined Sky Sports to talk about Perez's situation at the Austrian racing stable. He argues that Helmut Marko and Christian Horner cannot afford to start next season with a Perez in this form.
"Perez and Red Bull want exactly the same thing. They want him to refind his form and, if he can't beat Max, at least deliver some second places and grab second in the world championship," Brundle interjects. The former Formula One driver thinks Perez has just a few weeks left to convince his current employer of his qualities anyway.
"Red Bull can't take a passenger into 2024 if he is not on form and I can't imagine that Sergio would want to drive it either, to be honest (if that was the case). So these next few races are critical for his head and for Red Bull to be satisfied that he's just not lost his way and he can do this," said the commentator for the British television channel.
Time is running out for Perez
After his second-place finish in Miami in early May, Perez was on the podium just four times in 12 races. Max Verstappen won 11 of those 12 races, only in Singapore did he have to settle for fifth place. The current season still has five races and four qualifiers. So the 33-year-old veteran has limited time to show improvement.
It should be added that Perez 'just' still has a contract for 2024 at Red Bull. However, Marko is known to always have exit clauses built into contracts. If performance is so below par, the commitment could be torn up. The exact terms of this are not known.