Helmut Marko Reveals Saving Grace Amidst Sergio Perez’s String of Poor Performances

Recently, Formula 1 fans have witnessed how the lead has shifted from Mercedes to Red Bull. Between 2014 and 2021, the Silver Arrows won back-to-back Constructors’ Championship titles. But Christian Horner‘s team overpowered them with Max Verstappen’s superior performance and their near-invincible car setup. However, Red Bull’s other recruit, Sergio Perez, has failed to shine to the extent that his Dutch teammate has.

In 2021, the pair ended their run with Max scoring 200.5 points more than Checo. In 2022 and 2023, the gap was 149 and 290 points, respectively. Even this year, Sergio Perez is running 67 points behind his teammate. And it did not help matters for Checo when he DNFed the recently held Canadian Grand Prix and earned zero points as opposed to Verstappen’s 25 points.

Speaking on Sergio Perez’s performance deficit compared to Max Verstappen, Red Bull Chief Advisor Helmut Marko did not sound so glum. The Austrian is known for being hard on his recruits as he ousted Nyck deVries from Red Bull’s sister team AlphaTauri last year because of his poor scores. But in Checo’s case, Helmut Marko sees a ray of light. Check out what he said about the Mexican!

Helmut Marko sees Sergio Perez’s “situation” as “a great advantage”

The news of Red Bull renewing Perez for another two years has already destroyed several speculations regarding the authorities not being delighted with the Mexican’s performance. Marko talked about Perez’s situation with optimism in his analysis of the Canadian GP for Speedweek. He wrote, “This situation is a great advantage for us, that the pursuers are constantly taking turns. We don’t have one opponent, but three, who are snatching points from each other. I hope it stays that way.”

Helmut Marko also penned his thoughts on the challenging qualifying Checo had in Montreal. He wrote, “Sergio Pérez had a difficult qualifying in Canada, as he did in Monaco before. He struggles when the conditions change, as he did recently in Montreal. It takes him too long to get on time.” Thus, it seems the Austrian is quite sympathetic about Perez as he could only get a P16 start to Sunday’s race.

Red Bull was Sergio Perez’s guardian angel when no other team wanted him

Sergio Perez was in massive trouble at the end of the 2020 season of Formula 1, with no potential seat for the next year. His former employer, Racing Point, remodeled into Aston Martin Racing and had already taken up Sebastian Vettel to replace him. But Sergio Perez suddenly found an enormous deal from Red Bull, which placed him beside Max Verstappen. In 2021, Sergio Perez became instrumental in holding off a charging Lewis Hamilton as Verstappen cruised to victory at the historic Abu Dhabi GP, which earned him his maiden World Championship.

With Sergio Perez getting a contract renewal from Red Bull, several of the junior drivers have lost the chance to drive for the Championship-winning team now. Do you think it is justified for Checo to get an extension on his deal with the team despite his poor scores, compared to Max Verstappen? Let us know in the comments below.