Max Verstappen lost 10 points to Lando Norris at the Mexico GP, raising the stakes in an increasingly contentious title battle. Red Bull have made retaining Verstappen’s crown the priority, who have deemed Perez’s output as insufficient to compete in the constructors championship. As rumours speculate Sergio Perez’s future, Verstappen explains why driver selection should not be a priority issue at ed Bull.
Improving the RB20 is Verstappen’s focus
Discussion about Sergio Perez’s future has been near-constant for almost two years. Red Bull have given no guarantees about the 34-year-old’s future, with Christian Horner refusing to rule out a change before the end of 2024.
Since Ricciardo’s departure, Red Bull have failed to find a driver that can match the efforts of Verstappen.
This is proving costly in this year’s Championship battle, with Ferrari and McLaren both benefiting from having two drivers at a similar level.
Despite this, Max Verstappen does not see the team’s driver line-up as a main issue:
“At the moment, that’s not our biggest problem,” he told Sky Germany.
“We have to improve the car. Because if the car is better, Checo will also perform better.
“I’m not thinking about such scenarios at all, I’m just thinking about how we can get faster.”
Red Bull inching closer to a decision
This upcoming Brazilian GP is the final race of the triple-header. After this weekend’s action, there is a three week gap until the Las Vegas GP.
During this fairly substantial break, Red Bull are expected to re-evaluate Sergio Perez’s future. Of course, this is not the first time suggestions have circulated that Verstappen will have a new teammate.
However, unlike on previous occasions, the situation at Milton Keynes seems unsustainable. Both Christian Horner and Helmut Marko have given increasingly damming comments about Perez to the media.
At a team like Red Bull, who aren’t shy about making mid-season swaps, these quotes are enough reason to at least be vigilant about a potential change.
