It doesn’t happen often that you win a Grand Prix and you still don’t have a drive for next year. That is the predicament that Sergio Perez faces right now as he searches for options and is facing what could be the last Formula One race of his career.
F1 experts and fans have been clamoring in support of Perez getting Alex Albon’s seat at Red Bull as the Thai racer has not been up to the mark in his first full season at Red Bull and has been facing constant speculation over his future with the drinks company.
Red Bull has revealed that they are considering options that are present in the market right now and that does include Sergio Perez and Nico Hulkenberg (another driver who should arguably be present on the grid) but no decision has been made. Red Bull has in fact not ruled out the possibility of continuing with Alex Albon for next year if they feel his performance does improve.
With Sergio Perez winning the Sakhir Grand Prix in a Racing Point while Albon scampered home in 6th in a Red Bull the questions were raised once again about the performance of the Red Bull driver and how despite winning a Grand Prix Sergio Perez might not be able to secure a seat in Formula One for next season.
Putting everything aside, in my view, I don’t see Red Bull signing Sergio Perez to drive alongside Max Verstappen for the 2021 season. Although an unpopular opinion I do see the decision for the Red Bull seat coming down to either Alex Albon or Nico Hulkenberg.
Sergio Perez is not easy to manage
It’s not something of a permanent fixture Sergio Perez often but throughout his career, there have been occasions where Perez has been under the radar for not listening to his team and sometimes acting at the detriment of his own teammate. Be it during his stint with McLaren when he had one too many contacts with Jenson Button or when he had Esteban Ocon as his teammate.
The duo of Ocon and Perez famously crashed in Belgian GP 2017 when Sergio Perez almost turned into the youngster. This was stemmed from the fact that Perez was asked to move over for Ocon in Canadian GP that year and he had failed to do so which did arguably cost the team a podium.
Whenever Sergio Perez has had to do something for the greater good of the team and keep his own interests aside he has failed to do so. The reason why these cases have been few and far between is that his teammates haven’t been as high profile or much quicker than him. Button and Ocon are rare examples during his career but there hasn’t been much else.
At Red Bull, Perez will be up against arguably the biggest talent of this generation in Max Verstappen and there could be instances where he would need to give way to Max or put the team’s interests above his. Looking at Perez’s career, that’s something that has seldom worked and Red Bull could find themselves in a tough spot in that situation.
Sergio Perez in a Red Bull could cause unsolicited friction
What Red Bull would sit down and try to analyze when picking a driver is not only how fast the driver is. They will also look at how he fits within the team environment. Looking at the options in hand, Is Perez the best driver available?
It would be hard to compare him and Hulkenberg as both have done an admirable job whenever they had a chance. But the second question and arguably the more important one that they would need answers to is how well Perez would fit in the team as compared to a Nico Hulkenberg or Alex Albon.
Will Perez be happy to throw away a podium if that helps Verstappen’s chances of winning the Championship?
Will he be fine with Max playing the lead role while he plays the supporting role?
How well would he get on with Max? Throughout his career whenever something like this has happened, Perez has looked to serve his own interests instead of the team. This could lead to a hostile environment within the team as tempers could flare-up between the two drivers and the team ends up spending its resources on placating the situation rather than fighting for the Championship.
So, yes, although Perez has put together a great season and in terms of driving skills alone he should be driving the Red Bull next year, it’s highly unlikely that Red Bull would go for Perez.
With the official announcement of Red Bull today, you can confirm that your analysis and comments about this situation are bullshit.
Clearly none of you keep up with the news.. Sergio will be announced this week
Bull!!!! Perez saved the whole Racing Point team.
Albon is this you?
Clashes between teammates is the middle name of f1..u can name alot of drivers and the list is long😅
This didn’t age well.
Tendentious note by a lazy idealist
One could argue that Perez saved racing point to save himself. It’s his team and if it falls through he can’t drive anymore so it would make sense why he would throw in his own money and make those sacrifices if it means he still can race. Albon’s racing this last weekend was promising and his pace was remarkable. Red Bull said they want to see improvement from him and as far as I’m concerned, he has shown them that
Nice article sponsored by Albon!
Absolutely agree with the article. Perez has consistently refused to obey the team. Redbull need a good team player not a self-centered nutcase.
that’s in the past and we don’t know if it was Ocon or Perez! Also drivers mature for good and is what Perez has shown in the present and with a good car I see a good future for Perez that is why he deserves a seat in Formula 1! There are several drivers who are crying on the radio and still have a seat in Formula 1!
There have been times when LH has refused to obey Team orders, so has Seb and a number of others. Will Max obey team orders? Checo should have learnt, given the benefit of doubt and if necessary, write it into his contract. F1 teams have smart lawyers I presume. Alex needs further development and maturity to keep a place in the works team imo
What a tendentious note. Aimed at painting the Mexican driver as the worst option when he has shown throughout his career to be one of the drivers most committed to his team, to the point of rescuing it from bankruptcy and being able to stay afloat and be an option for the acquisition made by Laurence Stroll.
Terrible this tendentious note.
Unnecessary, harsh comments made about Perez 👎
All Red Bull now needed is not a team player, it’s a driver that the team can “rely” on when Max is out of the race due to DNF or whatsoever reason and withstand the pressure. RB is definitely has some sort of toxic atmosphere which is not easy for the young drivers to mature or can say they do not have that patient at all, however Checo actually can overcome all those shortcomings.
Not saying Alex is not a good driver, just he is not suitable for the RB system at all.
Red Bull is toxic for sure. Pressure is all around but unreasonable one is realling damaging one. Checo will have friction to play second fiddle, he is at the stage of numero uno driver for any team… Agree..
This is horseshit. It is true that there has been friction in the past with Perez and his team mates, but to say that he only acts on behalf of his own interests is entirely dubious. This is a man who saved racing point and all their employees from getting fired and threw down his own money to save the team. Apart from that it is entirely delirious to suggest that Perez is in the same class of Albon and Hulkenberg. Albon to begin with is in a much better car than Checo and still only managed to get one well earned podium this season, his second being after Checos engine blew up. Hulkenberg, though a much better driver than Albon has not had a single podium in his whole F1 career which has consisted of circa 180 starts. Checo has 10. I would re-consider making such bold statements regarding the afformentioned issues. If there is a reason why Red Bull would not sign Checo, it would be as simple as them having faith in Albon’s abilities. Which would clearly not be the correct choice to make.
Yeah! Like VET was very disciplined in the team and then Horner was pissed off how he went to Ferrari … if that’s the case they are afraid PER would be to much of a challenge… in the other hand, if they want mediocre drivers to make VER shine, they wouldn’t demote GAS ( now a race winner)… with all due respect you have no much of a case in your argument bro… they need points and close the gap to Mercedes. And if they retain ALB for 2021 is just because half of the brand is Malaysian and they are fixated with commercial issues…
So why hasn’t Red Bull announced Alex yet? Why haven’t they come out and say we are sticking with Alex? Because the rumors are hot they are working on a contract with Checo. Sign Checo because he’s better than Alex, and keep Alex as a back up if Checo doesn’t work out. Win win situation.
Agree so hard.
You hit the nail on the head. As good as Perez might be, his track record in behaviour towards team mates doesn’t prove him to be a team player.
Red Bull has a tough choice to make