Sergio Perex was recruited by Red Bull back in 2020 as their second driver, and since then he has never let them or his teammate Max Verstappen down, except now in the 2023 season. Sergio kicks off the current season very strongly and is almost on par with the two-time world champion. But soon his performance spiraled down and he found himself in a dry spell. Perez was only able to break it in the race held in Hungary, where he finally got a podium finish.
Still, the Mexican’s performance is way off if compared to that of his teammate Max Verstappen, who is currently dominating the sport in the same RB19. This had led to many fans speculating that Red Bull had given Checo an inferior car. But these clams were shut down by the Mexican soon enough.
Sergio Perez denies car sabotage claims
Sergio’s performance drop can be tracked back to the Miami Grand Prix, where he lost first place to his teammate. Since then, Perez has been struggling to even get his car into Q3. And on the other hand, his teammate has won every single race after that, maintaining his 8-win streak going into the summer break.
Knowing all of this, the speculations don’t seem too farfetched, but they were sparked out by the Red Bull driver in an interview with Mundo Deportivo after the Hungarian GP. Sergio, when asked about the theories, said, “The cars are the same. It’s in the team’s interest to have both cars up there every race. It’s crazy what is being said on the outside. There’s a lot of speculation,”
“No, no, that’s impossible! The team is totally focused on giving me the opportunity to perform at my best”
Red Bull has treated both drivers equally, with no team orders this season and both receiving upgrades simultaneously, leaving the drivers’ abilities in question. According to Perez, the reason for his sudden drop in performance was the crash at Monaco following the Miami GP. He said that he lost confidence in his car during it, resulting in him not being able to perform anywhere close to the Dutch man.
Is Perez too far away from Max Verstappen in F1 championship race?
As of August 16, 2023, Sergio Perez is 125 points behind Max Verstappen in the F1 championship race. This is a significant gap, and it will be difficult for Perez to make up that much ground in the remaining 14 races of the season.
However, it is not impossible. Perez has been driving well this season, and he has been able to match Verstappen’s pace on several occasions. If he can continue to perform at a high level and avoid any major mistakes, he could still have a chance to win the title.
Though it’s highly unlikely, his teammate is currently proving to be an untouchable force on track every race back-to-back. And even former F1 and Red Bull driver Mark Webber thinks the same. When F1 media asked him about, Max breaking Vettel’s nine-win streak, he said, “I think it’s really hard for people to understand this level of dominance, how much work and effort goes into it.”
“That’s the big thing; you’ve got to give credit; people have to give credit where it’s due.
What do you think about these fan theories? And do let us know your views on Max dominating the sport in the comments section down below.
