Sergio Perez keeps on biting the dust, weekend after weekend. He has hit a brick wall in terms of his race pace. The Mexican driver has dropped the ball hard,he started out this season trailing behind Verstappen, barely giving any competition to the champion. But soon he has proved to be a submissive, uncompetitive driver to the other top teams as well.
Missed Opportunity
It’s important to recollect that in Australia, when Max suffered a brake failure and was out of the race, the race presented a brilliant opportunity for Perez to take the lead with the fastest car on track. That was a chance to win the Grand Prix.
But did he do it?
The one-time force of the Force India team came in 5th and Carlos Sainz, the man who had just come back from an appendicitis procedure, won.
Perez was neither smooth and nor operating at the level expected of a driver with such profound experience; he arrived on the F1 track over thirteen years ago.
But more trouble was to come.
Sergio Perez’s pace and position in the races began falling off, since the European stint started. Since Monaco, Perez has not been on the podium once, and has managed two DNF’s and one 17th place finish. Red Bull’s RB20 has lost its pace, and has become very difficult to drive with all the increased understeer, decreased straight line speed.
But Max Verstappen has still managed three wins and five podium finishes since Miami. Sergio on the other hand has only managed to frustrate the team and has shown a great ability in letting down his teammate by never being there to help Max Verstappen defend their position.
Why is Sergio still in the Red Bull seat?
Red Bull and Perez seem to be playing a game of coin toss, and no matter what comes up – Heads or Tails, Perez keeps his seat. Red Bull have gone and renewed Perez’s contract, giving Sergio a confidence boost that the more he fails the more he will be rewarded for it.
The only reason he has finished 7th or 8th in the past races is because the mid-field cars are much slower than the RB20. He has not managed to best any driver from Ferrari, McLaren, or Mercedes, in the last ten races. Red Bull keep giving him chances and opportunities to prove how slow and non-competitive he can be.
Perez needs to make changes to his craft now
With 8 races left, Perez could still improve his points and position in the championship.
To this day, he is the only driver to win at Baku twice, and that means he has it in him to win. This time around, he begins rather impressively at a venue where he knows the winning feeling.
How so?
Not only does is the Mexican beginning his Baku challenge from fourth on the grid, he’s ahead of both Verstappen, his teammate as well as Russell in the Mercedes.
Should that inspire some confidence?
Maybe, not really a need to ask Helmut Marko.
He has shown great skill and pace and the past, but the past is not the present.
Whatever head space Sergio Perez needs to be in to win, he needs to get back to it. And now.
Moreover, the experienced driver needs to grab the Bull by its horns and wrestle it across the finish line. In so doing, he must be mindful that the two McLarens aren’t going to make it any easy as has been the case until this moment.
It’s time for an eleventh-hour miracle to be performed by the Mexican.
These last few races will define who will win the Constructor’s and Driver’s Championship.
If Perez strikes out a new path, and helps Verstappen defend his title, then Red Bull stand a chance of winning the Constructor’s Championship.
This, needless to say, would be a massive sigh of relief in that McLaren are in touching distance of the Milton Keynes-based outfit.
Only then can the Mexican be remembered not as a driver who failed his team despite having the fastest car, but rather as the one who fought back with such force that saved Horner’s McLaren and Mercedes tussling team from losing the Constructor’s fight.