Despite Michael Schumacher Comparisons, Max Verstappen’s Dominance “Unlikely to Last” Pushing Red Bull to Opt for Last Resort

There comes a point when even the good things come to an end. While Max Verstappen’s dominance, as Lewis Hamilton has reiterated, isn’t good for Formula 1, it certainly has been a blast for the Dutchman and Red Bull. With the Milton-Keynes squad having won all 12 races so far this season—Verstappen with 10 of them—the reigning world champion has a whopping 125-point lead in the Driver’s Championship and is well on his way to winning a third consecutive one. Verstappen’s dominance this season has been unprecedented, and when F1 journalist Michael Schmidt was discussing his exploits, he could only compare it to one other season—“Michael Schumacher‘s 2004 season.”

Verstappen broke Schumacher’s 13-race-win record from 2004 last season when he won 15 of the 22 races. And with 10 already under his belt this season, it looks like he’ll put his 15-race-win record to shame with his RB19. Considering Red Bull is showing no signs of slowing down, it seems like Verstappen’s dominance will continue for the foreseeable future. But F1 journalist Joe Saward seems to think otherwise. While Red Bull is on its way to win both championships, Saward believes it’s only the doing of Verstappen, with little help from Sergio Perez. 

Max Verstappen & Co. might have to look for more options for 2024

In his blog after the Belgian GP, Saward wrote, “Red Bull seems to think that keeping Sergio Perez until the end of his deal next year is not a bad idea, given that at the moment, Max Verstappen is winning the Drivers’ and Constructors’ titles on his own. Max has scored 314 points so far on his own, which is far head of Mercedes’s current total of 247 from its two drivers. Such domination is unprecedented in F1 and is unlikely to last, but Red Bull can always make a change next year if Perez does not do a good enough job.”

When this domination ends—and it will—Red Bull will need both its drivers fighting at the top of their game. While Verstappen has been doing that week-in, week-out, Perez has been underperforming. And in 2024, if Red Bull doesn’t have a car as superior as the RB19 and Perez’s form continues deteriorating, Red Bull’s chances of winning both championships will dwindle. 

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To avoid a situation like that, Saward believes Red Bull could terminate Perez’s deal before it expires at the end of 2024 and bring in a driver it can trust to deliver every race weekend and maximize its 2024 challenger’s potential like Verstappen is doing this season. And as Saward mentioned, Verstappen is currently winning both titles for Red Bull. Well, he isn’t the only one who feels that way.

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Max Verstappen feels Sergio Perez is of little help at the moment

Red Bull is 256 points ahead of Mercedes in the Constructors’ Championship. And of the 503 points Red Bull has, 314 have come thanks to Verstappen. While the start of the season looked promising for Perez—with him just a few points off the championship lead after the first few races—he fell away from Verstappen after the Miami GP. Since then, he’s failed to have even one clean weekend, with several Q1 and Q2 exits in qualifying.

After Verstappen got pole position for the British GP—where Perez got eliminated in Q1—the Dutchman said, as per grandprix.com, “With our car, you should be in Q3. So I don’t know why something went wrong with him today, said the Dutchman. Obviously, we are fighting for victory in the constructors’ championship as well, but I think I could do that on my own at the moment.”

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

Do you think Red Bull will put its faith in Sergio Perez for another season or is his time at Red Bull nearing its end?