F1 News
Ex-driver sees Perez is not helping Verstappen: 'He can't do that'
- GPblog.com
Following the departure of Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull Racing is struggling to find a capable driver to sit alongside Max Verstappen. The Dutchman has been performing very strongly for years, but his teammates are not coming close. Pierre Gasly couldn't handle the pressure but is now performing very well at AlphaTauri, Alexander Albon couldn't help Verstappen at the front of the field either, and Sergio Perez seems to be falling short of the mark, although the Mexican's contract was recently extended for another year.
Perez plays no role
Former driver Marc Sürer also sees that Perez can not yet bring what was expected of him. In an analysis on the Youtube channel of F1.de he says: "He needs to get closer in order to influence Mercedes' strategy. Bottas is usually there and can influence Red Bull's strategy every time. Perez can't do that."
Sürer explains that if he had to choose between Perez and Bottas as second driver, he would choose the Finn: "Just because he's there. Because he's up front and maybe with a good start he can block your opponent. If the other is far from the back, you never know if he will ever manage to get there at the front and make some impact."
Criticism of Bottas
Yet the Swiss also sees weaknesses in Bottas. The Finn was used more than once this season to hold up Verstappen during the race with the aim of letting Lewis Hamilton get closer. In France and Zandvoort for example this failed miserably. Sochi was yet another confirmation that Bottas is not really capable of holding up the Dutchman: "He passed him like a schoolboy," said Sürer.