F1 pundit reveals the reasons for Sergio Perez’s ‘severely inadequate’ results compared to Max Verstappen at Red Bull

Tim Coronel highlighted the fact that Sergio Perez has failed to match Max Verstappen this season.

F1 pundit reveals the reasons for Sergio Perez’s ‘severely inadequate’ results compared to Max Verstappen at Red Bull

Sergio Perez and Max Verstappen (image via IMAGO)

Sergio Perez is having a rough 2023 F1 season. The Mexican driver has delivered lackluster results throughout the season. The Qatar GP was no different for Checo as he started from the pitlane and could only finish a lowly tenth. F1 pundit Tim Coronel has shed light on the potential reason for Perez’s massive deficit to teammate Max Verstappen.

Coronel believed that despite showing a couple of glimpses of performance, Checo has remained off the mark compared to Verstappen. Moreover, the F1 pundit reckoned that Perez has not been able to learn from his teammate’s data in the garage. With Max Verstappen dominating the sport this year, Sergio Perez could make adjustments to be more in line with the three-time world champion.

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Unfortunately, Tim Coronel believes that this has not been the case. So much so, that the 51-year-old claimed that Sergio Perez has slipped down further despite having Verstappen’s data at his disposal. The Dutchman believed that Checo should be finishing second with the dominant Red Bull RB-19.

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Coronel told Motorsport.com, “I still see something happening now and then, which I think: “[For Sergio Perez] Wow, pretty.’ But I often say, “Wow, this is nothing at all.’ He goes down earlier than up. The great thing is that if your teammate is the fastest, you can learn from it. You can see the data and what kind of adjustment he drives. But it doesn’t work for him. It even backfires. Max completely cracked it. He should actually finish second with the same stuff.”

Also Read: Helmut Marko BLASTS Sergio Perez, claims the Mexican needs a ‘team change’

Tim Coronel highlights the Max Verstappen factor in Red Bull’s success

Red Bull has wrapped up both championships this season with ease. Max Verstappen has scored 433 points so far this year with a whopping 14 race wins. On the other hand, Sergio Perez has a points tally of 224 with just 2 race victories. Tim Coronel believes that this disparity between the two drivers is because of Verstappen’s incredible talent.

Max Verstappen
Max Verstappen (via IMAGO)

The 51-year-old insisted that the three-time world champion has adapted to the car perfectly this year, something Perez has failed to do. Coronel cited this as the reason for the two Red Bulls not being close in the pecking order, unlike McLaren or Mercedes. The Dutchman believed that Checo was simply not able to push the car like his teammate.

He stated, “I think the Verstappen factor, the Max factor, is seriously more important at Red Bull than we all think… Look at the starting grid. Why is one Red Bull standing here and the other Red Bull standing there, while the rest are almost together? You are as good as your car is, but that is not the case with this one.”

Sergio Perez has continued to have a string of underwhelming performances this season. The Mexican driver has started to face more pressure from Red Bull as rivals slowly catch up to the Milton Keynes-based team. As such, Checo must improve his performance in the coming weeks to solidify his place at the team for the future.

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