Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko has increased the pressure on Sergio Pérez, saying “he is in crisis” and may “need to change teams”.
Perez has endured a nightmare year since winning two of the first four races, 209 points behind Max Verstappen, who was crowned world champion last weekend.
Meanwhile, Pérez’s struggles continued in Qatar, where he failed to progress to Q3 in qualifying for the eighth time this year, before receiving three penalties for breaking track limits, leaving him returned to 10th place.
Marko, who received a warning from the FIA last month for blaming Pérez’s form on his ethnicity, believes leaving Red Bull will help the Mexican driver get out of his rut.
Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko has increased the pressure on Sergio Pérez, saying “he is in crisis” and may “need to change teams”. Perez has endured a nightmare year since winning two of the first four races, 209 points behind Max Verstappen, who was crowned world champion last weekend.
Meanwhile, Pérez’s struggles continued in Qatar, where he failed to progress to Q3 in qualifying for the eighth time this year, before receiving three penalties for breaking track limits, leaving him returned to 10th place.
Marko, who received a warning from the FIA last month for blaming Pérez’s form on his ethnicity, believes leaving Red Bull will help the Mexican driver get out of his rut.
“[Our relationship] is very good. Marko recently told Austrian newspaper oe24 that he supported me a lot, as did Max, who gave his opinion to several people. “You must not forget that I included Perez in the team back then [2021]. But that is simply the fate that Verstappen is suffering. This happened with [Pierre] Gasly.
“From this perspective, Perez needs to change the environment and the team. Now we will see how the next two races go. But he and the team knew he was in crisis.
Also unable to finish the Sprint race in Qatar, Perez only collected one point, giving him a total of five points from the final three rounds.
Pérez’s decline has helped Lewis Hamilton gradually inch closer to second place in the Drivers’ Championship, with the British driver now just 30 points behind second-place Red Bull.
Fortunately for Perez, Hamilton, starting third, collided with teammate George Russell at Turn 1 on Sunday’s opening lap, immediately taking him out of the race.
When asked about the threat Hamilton posed to Perez, Marko said:
“This fear is actually very specific. If he hadn’t fallen, Hamilton could still have earned 10 or 15 points.
Marko insists Perez can still return to his previous podium form while avoiding comparisons with Verstappen. The 80-year-old also doesn’t believe the support Perez will receive in the United States and Mexico will help him.
“Checo just has to do the best he can without looking at Verstappen. We are trying to help him do that. You see, there is no criticism from the team, only help. Maybe it will work.
“[The support in the United States and Mexico] doesn’t make it any easier for him. In addition, there is now a Sprint race in the USA – exactly what he doesn’t need at the moment.
“That makes it even more difficult for him because he always needs time to get up to speed. I hope that Austin will be halfway right, then it will be all right in Mexico.”
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