Sergio Perez is “not Red Bull-worthy”, that’s the verdict from former Red Bull driver Robert Doornbos who can’t understand why he has not been replaced.
Halfway through this year’s F1 World Championship and Perez has yet to win a Grand Prix despite his team-mate Max Verstappen claiming seven of 12 victories.
‘Because what Perez is showing is not Red Bull-worthy’
A lacklustre P17 at the British Grand Prix saw the Mexican driver fall to sixth in the Drivers’ standings, reigniting speculation that his days at Red Bull could be numbered.
Although Perez signed a new two-year deal in the wake of the Monaco Grand Prix, PlanetF1.com understands from sources close to the situation that there’s a clause in his contract that could allow Red Bull to demote him to the junior team in the summer break.
That clause is said to be a 100-point deficit to Verstappen with Perez trailing his team-mate by 137 with two races until the deadline.
Doornbos, who was a Red Bull test driver and contested three Grands Prix for the team back in 2006, is surprised Red Bull haven’t yet swung the axe.
“The whole world is wondering why they gave him a new contract. And why he is not being replaced,” Doornbos told Motorsport.com. “Because what Perez is showing is not Red Bull-worthy.
“In the past, nobody has been given as much time as he has.”
Latest Sergio Perez news amid mid-season driver swap rumours
👉‘Something is missing’ – Pierre Gasly suggests cause behind Sergio Perez’s Red Bull struggles
👉Martin Brundle gives ‘painful to watch’ verdict as Sergio Perez Red Bull future questioned
“Red Bull is really struggling with what to do with him,” Doornbos continued. “There have been juniors who were promoted to the A-team and then demoted in the middle of the season to give someone else a chance. But Perez’s situation is of course slightly different.”
And that difference is the Mexican driver’s sponsorship with Perez bringing in notable sponsorship from heavyweights like Disney, Telcel, Mobil, Claro, Nescafé, and KitKat.
But with Red Bull’s lead in the Constructors’ Championship suffering with only one car scoring big points, Doornbos feels that may yet overrule Perez’s sponsorship contribution.
“Red Bull had a big lead on the rest in recent years, so it was fine if Pérez was three-tenths slower than Max,” he said. “But now all those other teams are also competitive, so three-tenths can now be the difference between being first or sixth.
“Only he is no longer three-tenths behind, for the past six or seven weekends he has been very far behind. Certainly in qualifying, which means he has less chance of points, which in this competitive field can immediately mean no points.
“It seems to me that as team management you say: we activate the clauses that we have included in the contract. Because why else would you put them in an agreement? Those things are there for a reason.
“And what we are seeing at the moment is seriously bad. Of course that would be sad for Perez. But top-level sport is very tough and there are only twenty places in Formula 1. It is eat or be eaten.
“I think they have given him enough time and I would really take action now, because for Red Bull it is also very important to win the Constructors’ Championship.”
He added: “I felt embarrassed on his behalf when I saw him standing in the gravel and heard him ask if he could be pushed out of the gravel. It was heartbreaking.
“We saw a top athlete who has completely lost his way. He must have felt that he had perhaps lost his last credits with the team.”
Robert Doornbos weighs in on Sergio Perez replacement
As for which alternate driver Doornbos would put in the RB20 alongside Verstappen, the Dutchman would overlook both VCARB team-mates and go straight to reserve driver Liam Lawson.
“Red Bull is really struggling with that issue now,” he said, “because they expected a completely different scenario.
“Daniel Ricciardo would make it difficult for Yuki Tsunoda, but we still haven’t seen that. It would therefore not be fair to promote him, even if he might do better than Perez.
“I would take Liam Lawson. If he has a good test with the RB20 on Thursday at Silverstone: put him in! Or give Yuki Tsunoda a chance at Red Bull, which would be very nice for Honda.
“On the other hand: Red Bull Racing has a completely different pressure than the RB team [VCARB]. And someone who knows how to deal with that is Daniel Ricciardo.
“So yeah, it’s a very difficult choice. I wouldn’t like to be in their shoes.”
Read next: Martin Brundle casts verdict on second Red Bull seat with Carlos Sainz pitfalls identified