Helmut Marko’s Lando Norris-Oscar Piastri Confession Casts a Shadow of Doubt on Red Bull’s Sergio Perez Choice

Just after Sergio Perez renewed his contract, it became apparent that he was holding the team back. He scored 0 points in the last two races, but his contract renewal looks like nothing short of a nightmare. Although Perez has a 2-year contract with Red Bull, the reason for the 1+1 year clause is getting more apparent. While Red Bull is leading the constructors’ championship, Helmut Marko was unhappy with Checo’s performance as he is not scoring the points the team needs from him.

After the Monaco Grand Prix, Sergio Perez lost his P2 spot in the driver’s championship and it cannot be said that Red Bull has the best duo on the grid. The feelings are the same for Helmut Marko, who spoke about Checo’s contract renewal while mentioning who he thinks is the best duo on the grid. Although Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz are P2 and P4 respectively, Marko believes it’s another team with a more promising lineup overall.

McLaren’s quick driver line up

According to f1maximaal.nl, Helmut Marko has stated that Verstappen and Perez are no longer one of the best pairings on the grid. Last year, Red Bull won the championship with a 1-2 finish. however this year the situation looks difficult for the Mexican. Now at P5, Checo has a lot of catching up to do, as he is still at the risk of losing his seat in 2026 to Yuki Tsunoda.

Marko stated that “Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri at McLaren,” are the drivers that make the strongest duo on the grid. The Red Bull technical director then explained, “They are still young and hungry. They now get along well with each other and work well together.” Recently McLaren has been fighting for not only podium finishes but also wins and with Norris’ first win of his career in this season, the hunger is visible in his eyes.

Oscar Piastri, on the other hand, has been extremely strong in many races and many pundits believe that he will win his first Grand Prix any minute now. Ever since the Miami Grand Prix, McLaren has been proving that their car is as good as Red Bull’s, and now it’s up to the drivers to extract its maximum potential to fight for P2 in the constructors’ championship if not more.

As of now, re-signing with Sergio Perez looks like a mistake on Red Bull’s behalf as he has not been consistent with his performance. Besides not being on the podium alongside Max Verstappen, the Mexican also scored 0 points in two races, which puts Red Bull at risk of losing the constructors’ championship.

Was retaining Sergio Perez a mistake for Red Bull?

When it comes to Red Bull and VCARB drivers, Yuki Tsunoda has shown consistent performance in the Racing Bull. Many expected him to take Perez’s seat before the teams decided who they were going with for 2025. Checo started the season off quite strong but over time he fell off. With no points in the last two races, he has made not only his team, but the whole F1 community wonder if he was the right choice.

While it will only be clear towards the end of the season by the standings if Perez is the right fit next to Verstappen, Red Bull has put their faith in the Mexican for the next two years. The 1+1 year clause gives the team flexibility to move Checo to VCARB if he does not perform next season and looking at his performance, this might just be what they end up doing.

Sergio Perez has a lot to prove and only time will tell if keeping him on the team was a bad idea. Along with being the P2 finisher in the driver’s championship last year, he is also a source of sponsorship money that comes in from Mexico. However, Yuki Tsunoda is an asset in a similar case, with his ties to Honda.

Ultimately, all Red Bull needs to do is clear out this year and win the constructors’ championship and if Perez contributes to making that happen, it will have been the right decision. However, it’s up to Checo to prove that he can achieve results similar to Verstappen in the same car.

That being said, what do you think of Checo’s Red Bull extension?