Sergio Perez is facing increasing scrutiny at Red Bull as he continues to struggle to get closer to Max Verstappen.
Sergio Perez has strangely asked Red Bull for a car that “doesn’t change much” for 2024, blaming the 2023 woes on the development of the RB19.
When Red Bull introduced the RB19 at the start of the season, Perez made a big impression with the basic package.
Two wins in the first four races saw him established as Max Verstappen’s sole title challenger; However, the Mexican driver quickly lost contact with his teammate when the Austrian began improving the car.
With each improvement Red Bull has introduced this season, Perez has lost more confidence, which begs the question of would he have performed better this campaign if no improvements had been introduced? While improvements caused Perez to decline, Verstappen became more powerful as the car developed.
Claims that Red Bull have modified the car to suit Verstappen’s driving style have been dismissed, but Perez’s comments suggest that is the case.
The 33-year-old player does not want to “abandon the car” again next season because he will be tired of “compromising here and there”.
He simply wants a more consistent package next season and there will be few changes.
“I’m thinking about a more stable platform throughout the season and having a car that doesn’t change too much throughout the year,” Perez told Sky Sports. “It also helps with more consistency – I think that will be important because that’s what happened in the first few races.”
He added:
“I think when we started developing the car, I felt the car was moving away from me.
“I have to keep finding balance, making compromises here and there. We keep additional details internal to the team.
“That’s something we all know and hopefully next year it will be a different story.”
If next season isn’t a “different story” for the Mexican, then 2024 will likely be his last campaign as a Red Bull driver.
He is under huge pressure to improve his performance even before the start of the next season, as he has scored only 5 points in the last 3 races. If he loses second place in the drivers’ championship to Lewis Hamilton, it will cause big problems for Pérez.
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