Ever since the initial few races of the 2023 season, Sergio Perez has not been able to keep up with his teammate, Max Verstappen. Ever since the Mexican driver has faced a lot of criticism by the fans and some in the paddock as well. However, after analyzing the car’s recent issues, Red Bull has apologized to Perez.
While Red Bull and Max Verstappen completely dominated the 2023 season, the same cannot be said about this season. While Red Bull started the year at where they left off, their performances started to deteriorate over time. This has even allowed McLaren to take the lead in the Constructors’ Championship.
After the Azerbaijan GP, Christian Horner gave an explanation stating that the problems for the RB20 started last year when they brought an upgrade during the Spanish GP. This is around the same time Perez started facing problems as well.
Red Bull Engineers regret not listening to Sergio Perez
Ever since Perez started falling back to Verstappen, he has been complaining about the performance of the car. However, Red Bull chose not to listen to his complaints as Max Verstappen was dominating in the same car. So the team continued with their chosen development path.
But this year, that development path has not been working out. Back in Miami, McLaren brought an upgrade to their challenger that gave them the edge required to challenge Red Bull for race wins. Once, McLaren proved that it was possible to challenge the Austrian team, Ferrari and Mercedes followed.
During the last race in Baku, McLaren took the lead in the Constructors’ Championship for the first time since 2014. There is also a good chance for Ferrari to catch up to Red Bull as well.
McLaren have overtaken Red Bull in the World Constructors Championship and Ferrari too have caught up! With the constantly shifting momentum of all three teams there’ll be no telling who end the season on top!
Will we see a 3-way brawl to the finish for the Constructor’s title… pic.twitter.com/My5ExLjGdq
— Fastest Pitstop (@FastestPitStop) September 17, 2024
Ahead of this week’s Singapore GP, Sergio Perez said that the Red Bull engineers have apologized to him for not listening to his criticisms of the RB19 and RB20.
“To be fair, even some of the engineers after Monza came to me and did apologise, in a way, because it’s now a lot clearer that the issues I was talking about.” Perez said.
Heading to Singapore, Red Bull is not bringing any upgrades. But Helmut Marko has already stated that the team will bring upgrades for Austin. They are hopeful that these upgrades will bring them closer to McLaren’s pace in the final few races.
Why did Red Bull’s problems not affect Max Verstappen?
Given that Horner stated that the car’s problems started last year during the Spanish GP, the question has to be asked – Why didn’t Max Verstappen face the problems Perez was facing?
In Formula 1, there are different types of drivers with different driving styles and strengths. Most of the drivers on the field including Sergio Perez are quite sensitive to issues in the can. So even if there is the slightest problem, they will be able to recognize it and report it to the team.
⚠️ | Red Bull has cancelled its plans to have a special livery at the upcoming Singapore and US Grand Prix.
The team says the special fan designs that were chosen added “unforseen and undue weight to the bodywork” of the car, which “compromises performance”.#F1 #SingaporeGP pic.twitter.com/nGtMoBG90u
— Fastest Pitstop (@FastestPitStop) September 18, 2024
But there are other drivers like Max Verstappen and Fernando Alonso who tend to work around the problem. If a certain setup or driving style is not working, these drivers just figure out another setup or style and ignore the problem altogether. While this type of style is useful to get results for the team, it does not help the development path of the team as we are witnessing at the moment.
If Red Bull had listened to Perez from the beginning, they may have been able to remain on top this year as well. So now, the team has to claw its way back on top. It will be interesting to see how the upgrades in Austin will affect the RB20. Do you think Red Bull will be able to fight back in the Championship? Post your thoughts in the comments section below.
