Pressure piles on Perez: 'It's been sh** since the contract'

In a grey past, Van der Garde raced alongside Perez in GP2 (now Formula 2) and a year in Formula 1. During that period, the Dutchman saw that Perez "can go like the fire brigade", but "starts doubting himself" when things don't go his way for a while. "It's really bad now," Van der Garde concludes in his own podcast DRS: The Race Show.

'Perez replaced by Lawson'

The former driver has also read media reports about the clauses in the Mexican's contract, which state, among other things, that Perez should not be more than 100 points behind after the Belgian Grand Prix. Otherwise, Red Bull Racing has the option to sideline the veteran immediately, contract or not. "Since he has signed, it's just been absolutely sh**," is Van der Garde's analysis of Perez.

"If he doesn't keep performing, there is only one simple choice. They shouldn't get Ricciardo, because he is still performing worse than Yuki Tsunoda. He should finish his year and do something else. I would say just put in that Liam Lawson. It is a rookie, a boy who is fast, he can still learn a lot from Max, nobody expects much from him," Van der Garde said.

Lawson gets a chance during a test

Lawson will do two tests in the coming weeks; once with Visa Cash App RB in Imola and already this week with Red Bull Racing's 2024 car at Silverstone. "It's an advantage that he can do the test this week, because then they can immediately see how fast he is. And what is his feedback, how smooth and comfortable is he in that car? They did the same with Ricciardo last year and a few weeks later he was in Nyck [de Vries]'s car. If Perez doesn't keep performing, they have to."