F1 pundit claims Red Bull is ‘trying to hold onto Max Verstappen’ by giving 2-year contract extension to inconsistent Sergio Perez 

Sergio Perez has been making his trade with Red Bull since 2021.

F1 pundit claims Red Bull is ‘trying to hold onto Max Verstappen’ by giving 2-year contract extension to inconsistent Sergio Perez 

Sergio Perez and Max Verstappen (via IMAGO)

F1 analyst, Bernie Collins has spoken on the alleged intent of Red Bull in offering Sergio Perez a two-year contract extension despite unconvincing performances. Collins has indicated that the Milton-Keynes-based outfit is trying to hold on to three-time reigning world championship winner, Max Verstappen by keeping Perez with the team.

Sergio Perez joined Red Bull at the start of the 2021 season and has won five races with the team. However, the 34-year-old driver has shown visible signs of inconsistency since the previous season and has not been reliable on multiple occasions in terms of scoring points.

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Earlier this season, rumors emerged that Max Verstappen could be looking to leave Red Bull amidst the internal rifts within the team, despite having a contract until the end of 2028. F1 SkySports Pundit, Bernie Collins has hence asserted that the outfit wants the constructors’ championship-winning duo of the 2022 and 2023 seasons to stick together.

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 I think this is a bit of an indication that Red Bull are keen to stabilise the team and perhaps that is a way of holding on to Max. This is perhaps an indication that they are trying to hold on to Max. There has been a lot of discussion that potentially that seat isn’t as comfortable, that the team isn’t as together as they would like us to believe on the outside.
Bernie Collins said via SkySports

Red Bull has had yet another confident start to the season this year, in which they lead the constructors championship after eight races. However, Perez has been inconsistent in the past couple of races, which has caused Ferrari to close up on the Austrian team, the latter is leading the championship by a margin of only 24 points.

Helmut Marko claims F1 lacks innovation as rivals copy Red Bull

Red Bull Technical Advisor, Helmut Marko has claimed that the current teams on the grid lack innovation within their cars and their upgrades. He has thus alleged that rivals of the Milton-Keynes-based outfit have copied their upgrades. Red Bull had a dominating start to the season but has seen a drop in its performances over the past few races.

Helmut Marko
Helmut Marko (via IMAGO)
We have lost the dominance of the first three races. The competition has caught up in the third year of the current regulations. In the process, they have copied and even improved a number of things. There is not much room for innovation anymore. It's just a logical development, nothing honorable.
Helmut Marko said in an interview with Kronen Zeitung

Ferrari and McLaren have seen a formidable betterment in their performances this year, with both teams looking to proactively challenge the reigning world champions. Helmut Marko has claimed that both the teams have managed to catch up to the standards of Red Bull in the third year of the ongoing regulations that were introduced at the beginning of 2022.

Red Bull has won five out of eight races this season with Max Verstappen winning all of them. However, McLaren and Ferrari have won a combined three races which is in itself evidence of the dip in performance of the team. The upcoming Canadian event will have several eyes glued on Red Bull for varied reasons.

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