On the eve of Silverstone Grand Prix la Red Bull he sits at the top of the standings in both leagues. But the results on the track are not the only thing for which the Austrian team is always on everyone's lips. The multiple changes and the pilot management in fact, they reflect the atmosphere one breathes there, where winning is the only professed "creed". Those who enter find the time of their stay marked by the annoying noise of the hands. A countdown that resets after a positive result. There is no time or space for sentimentality or second chances. The couple formed by Verstappen e Perez, confirmed just a month ago, with the renewal of the Mexican until 2024, it will only work until one of the mechanisms ends up jamming. Nobody is indispensable, and Christian horner he never missed an opportunity to reiterate it. Which also fuels the hopes of those young riders who are pushing to enter the top category, or in a top team.
Perez and Verstappen can't fight for the title
One of the points that the Red Bull team principal, Christian horner touched during his speech at the event Cambridge Union of the University of Cambridge, concerns precisely the report of the two pilots. The competition between the twoWhile it highlights a particular strength of the team, it represents a great one threat. And this is also net of the importance of Perez in Verstappen's race for the world championship in 2021.
"I pilots I'm available to the team I'm there to work for the team. The teammate is a problem, the worst thing that can happen to a pilot. There are no companions, indeed the pilot next to you is the first enemy because he is the only person who has the same means as you. He can spell the end of your career" - he said Horner – who then continued: The team gets paid for position in the constructors' championship. No one gets a bonus because their driver wins the drivers' championship. "
Furthermore, he specifies that the Perez's fight is not with Max, But with the Ferrari. "Compared to 2021 it is different, they are all new cars and configurations. Sergio, however, is at ease with the car and this has given him confidence. He believes he can become champion but this creates another dynamic. In fact, our main competition is with Ferrari, but pilots want to fight each other. In this case, however, we must remind them that the car they drive is the result of the work of at least 800 people who designed it, and that for this reason it must be respected”.
Perez will have to defend his place
Perez's post is obviously one of the most coveted by young pilots looking for a springboard to launch or establish themselves in the Circus. Among them, there were also the names of gasly e Albon, both downgraded after a short experience in the parent team. The hope for Pierre has always been to be able to return to Red Bull, but in 2023 his situation, also net of the contracts of the other drivers, could only foresee one stay in Alpha Tauri. One of the indirect decisions that concerned the Pierre's future was precisely that of confirm Sergio Perez for two more seasons, like also pointed out by Horner, who is willing to believe in Mexican on one condition.
“We have taken Sergio with us for the next few years, leaving others out, on one condition. That it maintains a certain level of performance for the next two years. For someone like Pierre Gasly, or Albon, it's incredibly frustrating to know that place is going to be stuck. But what we try to do is help them stay in Formula 1 by giving them the opportunity to show their talent and see how they grow.."
Last contract for Checo?
Perez's age continues to advance and this affects his future and the prospects he could have at the end of his adventure with Red Bull. Horner in fact, he believes that the last contract of his career is the one signed by the Mexican after the victory in Monaco"Sergio is no longer young, and the other pilots know it. This it could be the last contract he will sign and which would therefore reopen the doors to young people”.
