'Red Bull should pressure Perez to retire from Formula One'
Juan Pablo Montoya has called on Red Bull to pressure Sergio Perez into retirement. The former McLaren driver saw Perez struggle during his home race in Mexico. Perez is contracted to drive for Red Bull in 2025 alongside Max Verstappen, but there has been doubt about his future for a long time.
A poor weekend in Mexico saw him fail to escape Q1, make a blunder on the grid by starting too far forward, and finish last. This did not help his cause. GPblog has reported that it is uncertain whether the Red Bull Racing driver will continue to be Max Verstappen's teammate after the upcoming Brazilian Grand Prix.
"If I was Red Bull, I would be putting pressure on him to retire from F1," the Colombian stated in a conversation with Instant Casino.
What 'stupid mistake' cost Perez in Mexico?
Montoya then puts himself in Checo's shoes and explains how he would respond. "I would say, ‘I still have one more year on my contract. I will stick it out. Work with me, not against me," he added.
"I honestly thought Checo was going to have an amazing race in Mexico. Before the race, I was talking to somebody on the grid, and I said, ‘I bet you Checo will finish at least eighth today.’ I really thought that he had the pace to do that but he made such a simple mistake," he added.
After flying up to P13 in the opening part of the race, things looked good for Perez. However, the stewards placed him under investigation for starting too far forward. He was given a five-second penalty, which dropped him back. Montoya pins the blame on the pressure that he was under. "He was too far forward in the grid box. He was not even close. He was half a car off it. It just shows you how much pressure he is under," Montoya concluded.
This article has been created in collaboration with Ludo van Denderen