Home

F1

“Classic Sergio Thing!!!”: F1 Expert Calls Out Perez for Unforgivable Mistake as Red Bull Driver Continues to Crumble Under Pressure

Published Jul 22, 2023 | 11:15 AM EDT

Follow Us

via Reuters

When you think of Sergio Perez’s driving style, you would think of things like his amazing defense, his street circuit speed—both his race wins this season were at street circuits in Saudi Arabia and Azerbaijan—or maybe even his ability to fight through the field. This season, we’ve witnessed all these aspects of his driving because he put himself in situations that brought out these qualities. And considering he’s in the RB19, the fastest car on the grid, he shouldn’t have been in positions where he had to fight through the field or defend against anyone other than his teammate, Max Verstappen. But that’s not what has transpired in 2023 because, more often than not, Perez’s continual errors have put him in those positions, and the Hungarian GP weekend started with another one of them.

In his first flying lap in the first practice session of the race weekend, Sergio Perez crashed into the tire wall going into Turn 5. And F1 journalist Peter Windsor had a few things to say about it. In a YouTube live stream on his channel, he said, “[The crash was] a classic Sergio thing, really.” These crashes and uncalled-for errors have happened so often this season that they’ve become more common than seeing the Mexican in Q3. In the past five race weekends, Checo hasn’t reached Q3 even once.

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

In trying to navigate through the quick left-hander Turn 4 directly into the Turn 5 right-hander, “he put a left rear wheel on the grass, caught an edge, and spun into the tire wall.” Considering Checo is in one of the best seats on the grid, Windsor couldn’t help but criticize his driving style. He said, “Very inelegant, not the sort of thing you would expect anyone to do in a Red Bull, let alone Sergio in this stage of the season. And that put him out for the session.” His crash didn’t just affect Red Bull’s data collection but also every other team’s.

He crashed in dry conditions, but once the session resumed after his car was cleared from the track. It had begun raining, and all the data teams gathered was based on wet-weather conditions while qualifying, and the race are expected to be dry. Needless to say, Red Bull wasn’t the only team upset with Perez. Given that Checo hadn’t been performing as expected till the last race weekend (which has also carried on to Hungary), Max Verstappen joined in on the criticism at the British GP. 

Sergio Perez isn’t helping Max Verstappen in Red Bull’s fight

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

After his win at the Azerbaijan GP, Checo has stood on the podium only twice—once in Miami and the other in Austria. To give some context to his performance, Verstappen stood on the top step of the podium in every race after Azerbaijan and has gotten pole position in every race after Miami. So when Perez got knocked out in Q1 at the British GP, Verstappen said, as quoted by marca.com, “I don’t know why things went wrong [with Perez] today, but of course, with our car, you have to get into Q3.”

via Reuters

Even though Red Bull is far ahead of the rest of the grid in the Constructors’ Championship, it can’t afford to slip up. But with Max belting out consistent performances at the top every race weekend, the Dutchman feels he can handle the drivers’ and the constructors’ titles alone. He said, “We are also fighting for the team championship. At the moment, I think I can do it alone.”

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

Trending

Red Bull Insider Delivers Bad News to Frederic Vasseur as He Reveals Big “Advantage” Over Ferrari

“Just Being Wheeled Around”: Adrian Newey Accuses Red Bull of ‘Not Involving’ Him in Strategic Calls After Decision to Leave

Max Verstappen Makes Massive Blunder as Imola GP Stands Between Dutchman’s Favorite Activity

Lando Norris’ Birthday Post Goes Wrong as He Exposes Max Verstappen’s Adventurous Side on Instagram, Sends Fans Into a Frenzy

Kelly Piquet Ditches Boyfriend Max Verstappen to Hail Her “Best Travel Buddy” in Her Latest Social Media Activity

Do you think Sergio Perez’s seat at Red Bull is in danger for 2024?

WATCH THIS STORY | Sergio Perez Caught in the Crossfire as Sebastian Vettel Dismisses All Attempts to Downplay Verstappen’s Dominance

Written by:

Aditi Krishnan

757Articles

One take at a time

Aditi is an F1 writer at EssentiallySports and is essentially a sportsperson. She fell in love with F1 in 2020. It happened when her brother tuned into that first race weekend in Austria, and she knew right then and there that she had to learn everything she could about the sport.
Show More>

Edited by:

Aishwary Gaonkar