Martin Brundle has Sergio Perez theory that could save him from Red Bull sack
Sergio Perez is coming under increasing pressure at Red Bull following a miserable run of form.
Martin Brundle believes that Sergio Perez’s commercial value could keep him in the second Red Bull seat. The Mexican racer is in the middle of a miserable run of form that has seen him take just 15 points from his last six Grand Prix outings and rumours are now swirling suggesting that he could be sacked in the summer break.
Perez only signed a new contract with the Milton Keynes-based outfit ahead of the race in Montreal, but since then his best finish has been seventh place with two DNFs and a P17 classification at Silverstone thrown in the mix.
These performances have highlighted the drastic performance gap between Perez and team-mate Max Verstappen, who is 137 points clear of his colleague in the Drivers’ Championship standings. Now, approaching the summer break, the 34-year-old must turn his form around or face the sack mid-season, according to several reports.
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However, Perez may have a saving grace. Explaining his thought process on the Sky Sports F1 podcast, Brundle said: "With the sponsorship, with Red Bull’s commerciality in North and South America, with the Mexican Grand Prix yet to come, would you really not want Sergio Perez on the grid?
“So that’s the balancing point. If he was ‘driver B’ and none of that commerciality or nationality ever mattered, they would have replaced him, wouldn’t they? Let’s be honest…”
However, with McLaren posing a significant threat in the Constructors’ Championship, Red Bull may be forced to act if Perez keeps dropping back. The former Sauber and Racing Point driver is now just eight points clear of eighth-placed Lewis Hamilton in the standings and is regularly over a second slower than his team-mate in qualifying.
Discussing the troubles facing Perez following a miserable race at Silverstone, Christian Horner said: “Checo, of course, he’s under pressure – that’s normal in Formula One – but when you’re underdelivering, that pressure only mounts, and he’s aware of that. He knows that. This weekend, nothing’s really gone his way.”
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Should Red Bull decide to shuffle their pack and call time on Perez’s career at Milton Keynes, there are three internal options at their disposal to replace him. Chief among them is Daniel Ricciardo, while Liam Lawson will be testing the RB20 on Thursday. Yuki Tsunoda has enjoyed a stellar campaign at VCARB, but he remains the outsider for the seat.
