“Headf*ck” Max Verstappen Almost Cost Sergio Perez His F1 Career Without Any Fault of His Own

Max Verstappen has been on top of the sport for the past two years, especially last year when he achieved the extraordinary feat of winning 15 races in a single season. Alongside him was Sergio Perez, whom the Dutchman gave the moniker of “legend” for his heroics at the Abu Dhabi GP. His acts brought glory back to the team.

But despite his heroics, as per the latest revelations featured in Drive to Survive’s Season 5 Episode 7, titled “Hot Seat,” Sergio Perez’s career at Red Bull was nearing an end. Christian Horner was interacting with his wife about the future of Sergio Perez. They made his performances look small compared to Max Verstappen’s in 2021. However, he turned things around in 2022.

Checo said to me, “Look, having, you know, Max as your teammate is a bit of a headf*ck because you look at the data, and he’s doing it quicker and faster, and you think, ‘How the hell did he… did he do that?’ I think what he’s done, you know, it is tremendous.”

“Checo knows that in this business, decisions aren’t made with a heart. They’re made with a head. If he’s not delivering the results. People have short memories in this business. He’s got one year left on his contract. And the reality is, if by spring, he’s not cutting it, then we’re gonna have to look…You know, we’re gonna have to look outside.”

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It feels unjustified that the Mexican was in such a situation. Regardless of his inconsistencies, he was a great teammate. Nevertheless, Checo’s powerful performance, despite a weak start last season, got him a two-year contract and cemented his place well with the team.

Red Bull made targets clear for Sergio Perez

Sergio Perez started off strong by achieving his first pole in Saudi Arabia. However, his pace on race days was consistently under par. The Mexican failed to deliver as well as Verstappen and fell below the team’s expectations.

In the episode, Christian Horner appears to have made his expectations clear to Checo, as he sent out a warning saying, “Checo just has to start delivering. You know? Bring home wins consistently. If there’s one thing we know from the history of Red Bull Racing, it is that emotion does not come into the decision-making process. At 32 years of age, he’s, you know… he’s in the senior years of his career. You know, you start to see, you know, cracks.”

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With these things coming out, it appears that things looked bleak for the Mexicans. However, the win in Monaco certainly changed things. We all got a peek into the contract talks between Horner and Checo.