Although Sergio Perez will continue with Red Bull, David Coulthard wonders if it’s in vain with the driver having “turned the page” on being a great driver.
Weeks of speculation, capped by a crunch meeting of the Red Bull higher-ups, concluded on Monday when Christian Horner announced to the Red Bull personnel in Milton Keynes that Perez “remains a Red Bull Racing driver, despite all the speculation of late”.
Has Sergio Perez ‘turned the page’ on being a great F1 driver?
The decision was made despite Perez’s struggles continuing at the Belgian Grand Prix which was thought to be his final opportunity to show Red Bull what he could do.
He qualified second but crossed the line down in seventh place, yet again beaten by his team-mate even though Max Verstappen started the Grand Prix from 11th on the grid, nine places behind Perez.
The result meant Perez did not once feature on the podium in the last nine races and slipped to seventh in the Drivers’ standings where he’s on 131 points to Verstappen’s 277.
Speaking on the Formula For Success podcast along with David Coulthard, former F1 team boss Eddie Jordan said he thought Red Bull would have to “do something” as Perez is costing them points in the Constructors’ Championship.
Coulthard replied: “It’s a tough one isn’t it? As we’ve said before, and certainly I say it, this isn’t your friends, this is the business of winning.
“Maybe Checo has just turned the page on really being at the top of his game because time stands still for now man and there’s always a point where the driver starts to sort of trail off.
“Tell me anyone that has gone for a long career that has just been getting better and better.”
Red Bull team boss Christian Horner, who is said to have been the one to make the decision to retain Perez, has vowed to help the Mexican driver regain his lost form.
“Checo is a great team player, and he’s a massive team player, and that’s why he was selected,” the team boss told the media including PlanetF1.com at Spa.
“That’s why we took him at the end of 2020 to put alongside Max and he’s won six, seven races for us [five, ed’s note], second in the World Championship last year, goodness knows how many podiums.
“It’s been the most successful combination we’ve ever had as a driver pairing.
“What’s frustrating for everybody is Checo struggling because nobody wants to see him struggle. Everybody wants to see him succeed.
“The team has been and is right behind him. Everybody wants to see him succeed because it hurts seeing him in the situation that he is.”
He added: “The priority is to support Checo and to understand what he what he needs. We all want him to turn it around, we all want to see him deliver.”
