Max Verstappen claims Red Bull can ‘afford’ Sergio Perez’s DNF after Canadian GP victory

Max Verstappen claims Red Bull isn't worried about Sergio Perez's dismal weekend in Montreal for the time being.

Max Verstappen claims Red Bull can ‘afford’ Sergio Perez’s DNF after Canadian GP victory

Sergio Perez and Max Verstappen (via IMAGO)

Red Bull has been struggling to claim dominant victories like it had last season. The competition has started to catch on to the forefront and is providing tough competition. Sergio Perez has faced a back-to-back DNF after losing the RB20 at the Canadian GP. Hence, Red Bull has started to come close to being ousted from the top spot by the rival teams. However, Max Verstappen isn’t concerned as such mistakes are ‘affordable’ for the Austrian constructor.

Sergio Perez recently signed a two-year contract extension with Red Bull amidst woeful performances. The 34-year-old lost his chassis at the Canadian GP and did not finish the race. Max Verstappen reckoned that the damage was done for Checo after starting the race in P16 due to a Q1 elimination. However, the reigning world champion acknowledged that Perez needed to score big to disallow the rivals to catch up.

I think the damage was done yesterday for Checo. Starting in the back, it's very hard in these conditions. Then I saw him retire with the damage. So I knew that I had to score big to not let the other teams catch up.
Max Verstappen said during a post-race interview.
YouTube video

Verstappen brought home the victory for the Red Bull crew while Perez scored no points for the team. Hence, upon this, the 26-year-old thought that as long as one driver scored the race win, it wasn’t worrisome. As a result, Red Bull was able to ‘afford’ such mistakes from the Mexican driver as long as Verstappen was winning the races and maximizing points.

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I do think at the end of the day, as long as you keep winning, you score 25 points, even if the others finish P2, P3, you don't really lose out too much. And then, you know, you kind of can afford sometimes these one-offs.
Max Verstappen added.

Max Verstappen claims Red Bull needs to make the RB20 ‘bit easier to drive’

Red Bull’s challenger problems were very much prevalent at the Canadian GP as well. Regardless, Verstappen had a great drive around the circuit and scored the race win. However, the Dutchman mentioned that the team wanted to have two drivers up in the points ideally. Hence, the 26-year-old had no doubts that this would change soon for the Austrian constructor.

But of course, naturally, we always want the two cars to be up there. And I also have no doubt that that will change very soon again.

Max Verstappen noted.
Max Verstappen, elmut Marko and Christian Horner
Max Verstappen, Helmut Marko and Christian Horner (Via: Imago)

Despite the good results, Verstappen declared that Red Bull needed to work on the RB20. The team needed to make the challenger more easier to drive for Perez and himself. Hence, ensuring top challenger performance will enable Milton Keynes to return to their start of the season form and return back to dominating the field.

We just need to work on our car, to make it a bit easier to drive also, to feel a bit more comfortable. And then I'm sure that we have both cars back up there like we had in the beginning of the season.
Max Verstappen concluded.

Verstappen has continued to attempt his best at maximizing points for the team while Perez fails to do so. The Mexican driver might have been relaxed after confirming a two-year deal. However, anything can happen if the 34-year-old fails to produce results on the level of Red Bull. Hence, Checo needs to put his head into the game and start following Verstappen’s dominant performance in the 2024 season.

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