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Giedo van der Garde on Sergio Perez's performance in Canada

'As long as you have Max Verstappen the second driver doesn't matter'

12 June at 18:30
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  • Olly Darcy
  • Editor

Sergio Perez had another disastrous weekend in Canada in which he failed to score any points as he did in Monaco. The constructors' title for Red Bull Racing seems uncertain due to the second driver's underperformance. Nevertheless, Giedo van der Garde thinks Perez is a fine second driver.

As Red Bull Racing's competition has grown closer, it is imperative that the team scores as many points as possible in each race. In Monaco and Canada, it was only Max Verstappen who scored points. As a result, Verstappen sort of has to do it on his own. The Dutchman made statements about this himself in Canada.

'Perez makes a mess of things'

Former Formula 1 driver Giedo van der Garde discusses the Canadian Grand Prix in the DRS: The Race Show podcast. In particular, Sergio Perez's underperformance was the topic of conversation. "It seems like he's like, 'I have a new contract, I'm going to sit back'. Gosh, what a bad weekend the bloke had. First qualifying. Yeah with a car like that, look, it's maybe not quite optimal. It's not quite like last year, but the gap to Max Verstappen is way too big. He just makes a mess of it," Van der Garde said.

Still, the Dutchman does stand up for the Mexican. "On the other hand, at the beginning of the season, he was just good and steady, he did his thing, and was on the podium a lot. They are just looking for stability and they think 'Well you know, he knows the team, he knows the people. He's a fine second driver.' It's interesting because, of course, it also has the Mexican market along with Red Bull. There's some sponsorship behind it with Carlos Slim, so it's all a win-win situation. He's just fine as a second driver. At the moment, as long as you have Max Verstappen, it doesn't matter at all who is in it, and I think, once again, Perez is a very good second driver in that."

This article was written in collaboration with Olly Darcy