Helmut Marko compares Sergio Perez and Daniel Ricciardo, claims Checo was not that great in Qualifying 

Helmut Marko states Sergio Perez lacks essential qualifying pace as he provides mixed reality regarding his position at Red Bull.

Helmut Marko compares Sergio Perez and Daniel Ricciardo, claims Checo was not that great in Qualifying 

According to Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko, Sergio Perez has “woken up from his world championship dream” as a result of recent Formula 1 qualifying setbacks that have required race comebacks. In the recent Qualifying sessions, Sergio was compared with Daniel Ricciardo who is currently at Alpha Tauri. Marko has observed Perez to be slower than the Aussie. The Mexican driver never managed to pass his teammate and two-time defending champion Max Verstappen this year, although he did get within six points after winning the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in late April.

Perez was able to awaken from the championship “dream” because of this challenging period, according to Marko, and his realization will now allow him to concentrate on improving his performance. The Austrian reaffirmed Red Bull team boss Christian Horner‘s claims that Perez’s job is safe as long as he is in second place in the drivers’ standings. “We have a contract with Perez that runs through the end of 2024“, Marko stated.

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“In the world championship, he is second. What is the justification for our action? He is now awake from his fantasy of winning the world championship. He might be able to refocus on giving the best results with that extra help.” Verstappen, according to Marko, is still underappreciated for his brainpower, and given his standing in the field, Perez will never be able to catch up to him in the championship.

Related: Sergio Perez reveals the root cause of his drop in performance amidst sabotage conspiracies

Sergio Perez is Slower than Daniel Ricciardo: Helmut Marko

Helmut marko
Helmut Marko (via Twitter)

During a private examination with current AlphaTauri driver Daniel Ricciardo in the late 2000s and early 2010s, Marko concluded that Perez’s one-lap pace had never been his greatest asset. Perez might not be at the same pace with the likes of Verstrappen but he Led 11 laps at Spa before Verstrappen took the P1 coming back from p6 due to a gearbox change penalty. 

Although recently in Hungary and Spa the performances look so much promising from Perez, he is not totally out of harm’s way. It looked like he is lacking the Qualifying pace which in respect to Daniel Ricciardo in the Slowest car on the grid is pretty slow. Certainly, Perez has to work hard in the qualifying sessions if he is to see through his Red Bull contract till 2024 or beyond.

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