In this Formula 1 season there is a man who seems to be in a sport apart, called Max Verstappen. The Red Bull driver has reached six consecutive victories and he has absolutely no intention of stopping. The Max-RB19 duo seems to be unbeatable and above all inimitable today, especially when considering the performances of his teammate.
The great ambition
After all, just think about it: Sergio Perez drives the exact same car as Verstappen, except of course for the differences relating to the set up and those in the standings, with a gap between the two currently standing at 99 points. The Mexican had left at the beginning of the season hoping to be able to really worry Verstappen and be able to play with him for the title. The victory in Jeddah, and the dominated weekend in Baku, had excited the number #11 on the grid quite a bit, who had declared he had a very clear objective: become world champion.
Perez's collapse
Things have actually changed, and significantly so, since the Miami Grand Prix. Because of Leclerc's mistake in qualification, Perez obtained a valuable pole position – while Verstappen was forced to start from ninth position. No problem though if your name is Max and you have a unique feeling with that spaceship. Verstappen carried out a perfect comeback race, so much so that he overtook his teammate and win the Grand Prix. From that moment on, Perez went into total trouble: Monaco and Silverstone were out of Q1, while in Barcelona, Canada and Austria he didn't get beyond Q2.
Marko throws the dig
Results that are clearly disappointing, especially if we consider the poles obtained by his teammate. In the race, however, Perez, thanks also to the car he has at his disposal, always manages to move up numerous positions and reach the points zone. Every weekend therefore, at Red Bull, Perez's position becomes increasingly shaky. Helmut himself admitted it Marko, which after qualifying at Silverstone – in which Perez yes he qualified sixteenth - he has declared: "It is clear that Perez has weaknesses. However, I believe that we will not replace him because at the moment there is no one better than him available."
Horner defends Perez for now: “We continue to support him”
The situation is therefore very clear. Perez however, the next day in race, responded quite well, finishing in sixth place. A good placement, that its team principal Horner defined it this way"I think his race was fantastic honestly – Horner declared to the microphones of sky sports f1 - he overtook Sainz and made great overtaking comebacks. The problem is that it was once again a comeback. Checo must qualify better and then everything will be fine. We are continuing to work and support him and I am sure he will improve".
And meanwhile Ricciardo arrives…
The news of the week is clearly about Daniel's arrival Ricciardo in Alpha Tauri, in place of De Vries. From this aspect, the message sent by Helmut Marko seems to be very clear: if even Perez, as well as said De Vries, should it not achieve the desired results – and on the other hand Ricciardo managed to have a good season – the Mexican's place would really start to be at great risk. Make yourselves comfortable: from Hungary Ricciardo's season will begin and who knows, a new year might be born for Sergio Perez at the same time.
