Ex-F1 champion urges Red Bull to make ‘tough’ call to replace Sergio Perez if the Mexican fails to improve

Sergio Perez has scored points in only in three out of his last six races.

Ex-F1 champion urges Red Bull to make ‘tough’ call to replace Sergio Perez if the Mexican fails to improve

Jenson Button and Sergio Perez (Via: Imago)

Red Bull has found itself in an unexpected title fight. The Austrian giant has been fighting tooth and nail for victories against Ferrari, McLaren, and Mercedes. This has warranted Red Bull to be on their best form with both of its drivers. However, Sergio Perez has proved mediocre in the RB20 rocketship. This has warranted the former the 2009 world champion, Jenson Button to urge the Milton Keynes-based squad to take the tough call to replace the Mexican if he continues his below-par form.

Sergio Perez appeared to be the best driver that could solve the second driver troubles that Red Bull suffered for quite a few years. The 34-year-old was on relative pace and was always there to collect the pieces whenever Max Verstappen had a bad day in the office. On the contrary, this changed with the onset of the 2023 season, which changed the opinion of the experts regarding whether the Mexican deserved the seat at Red Bull.

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With the title fight brewing between the top four, Perez’s contribution has been close to none. Witnessing his stark slump, Jenson Button called for Red Bull to take a difficult decision.

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He [Sergio Perez] needs to be scoring some points at least. Even if he’s not directly behind Max. They can’t let it go on forever. I think in the next race, if he’s not scoring points again – soon enough they’ve got to get him out of the car and put someone else in. It’s tough, I know it’s not a nice feeling for a driver, it’s horrible, but for them the championship is important.
Jenson Button said in an interview with Sky Sports F1

The former world champion claimed that Perez needs to score some points at least. On the other hand, the Austrian giant had thought that giving the Mexican a contract extension would have given him much-needed motivation, but this decision has backfired. Thus, Button asserted that if Perez could not score points in the next race in Hungary, then they should take him out of the RB20 and should hire another driver for the job.

Ex-Red Bull driver claims there’s ‘something missing’ in Sergio Perez

The former six-time race winner’s underwhelming form has been raising eyebrows at Red Bull. However, this has not been the first time that questions have been raised about a Red Bull driver in the infamous second seat, as Pierre Gasly explains his perspective.

Red Bull's Sergio Perez
Sergio Perez (via IMAGO)

The Frenchman understood Perez’s plight.

But he just doesn’t seem to be able to get the performance out of it, whether it’s coming from him or the team, I don’t know. But there’s clearly something that is missing at the moment between the two.
Pierre Gasly said in an interview with PlanetF1

Gasly reckoned that Perez has been unable to extract performance out of the RB20. He necessarily does not blame the Mexican but claims that something is missing between the team and the driver which has been hampering the 34-year-old’s progress.

Despite Button urging the team to take the tough decision, Horner and Co. have been fairly patient. However, the shrinking lead in the constructor’s standings might bring in some required stringency, which might push Red Bull to sack Perez if he cannot salvage some points in the upcoming races.

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