Daniil Kvyat and Pierre Gasly have one thing in common, the mid-season demotion from the second driver seat at Red Bull. The story continues as Nick De Vries has already been given a warning by Helmut Marko. However, the Red Bull Taskmaster hasn’t had it easy during this last year. As Marko sorts his beef with the new Red Bull CEO, he cheekily sneaks in a failure by Daniel Ricciardo to mask the Sergio Perez rumors. Let’s find out what the Taskmaster has been up to. 

We wouldn’t be wrong in saying that Red Bull has just put a tough year behind them. Dietrich Mateschitz passed away near the end of last year with Oliver Mintzlaff taking over the role of CEO. Red Bull was found guilty of breaching the cost cap penalty resulting in fines and penalties. Speculations around there being a rift between Helmut Marko and Mintzlaff also came up. The Red Bull taskmaster explained how Mateschitz had a profound knowledge of the sport and was very close to him. Mintzlaff on the other hand wasn’t comparable to Dietrich Mateschitz. 

While there might be some differences, Marko suggested that there aren’t any discrepancies between the two. According to Kleinezeitung.at, when Marko was asked about his relationship with the new Red Bull CEO, he said “Everything has worked out and we have the freedom we need, as well as the budget. Everything is in the green and Oliver Mintzlaff and I also have a corresponding exchange” [translated via Google]

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With things settling down between the Two important pillars of Red Bull, the next concerning thing that needed to be looked at was the Sergio Perez situation. The pressure of being Max Verstappen’s teammate seems to have gotten to Checo. Nevertheless, Marko silenced all these rumors. 

Helmut Marko masks Sergio Perez’s misfiring with Daniel Ricciardo failing to Survive Against Max

What looked like a promising title fight after the first five races died after Sergio Perez’s unforced errors during the last three races. However, it isn’t easy being the second driver at Red Bull, let alone being Max Verstappen’s teammate. Daniel Ricciardo managed to beat Max Verstappen during the Dutchman’s initial years at Red Bull. But in 2018, the fortunes would turn as Verstappen finished 79 points ahead of Ricciardo. Subsequently, Ricciardo moved to Renault for the 2019 season.

Even Ricciardo felt the pressure of being second-best to Max Verstappen in 2018. Sergio Perez however has been at Red Bull for over two seasons now, under the pressure of being second best to Verstappen, and yet is still racing. When the question arose regarding Checo’s future and Ricciardo being a possible replacement, Marko said “Perez had some very good races and some very bad ones. He has to concentrate again and deliver the best, there is no need for dreams of a world title. The positive: He’s the first to last two seasons alongside Max.”

Perez for sure has sustained the pressure. We feel that the pressure to take the fight for the title to Max Verstappen was brought by Perez upon himself. What do you think? Will Checo get back up from the slump? Is the Title Challenge still on?

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