Nothing seems to be going for Sergio Perez at the moment. From missing out on 5 Q3 appearances to the risk of losing his seat to Daniel Ricciardo, it has gone from bad to worse for him. And that pressure getting to him was visible in FP1 at Hungary where he crashed within the first 5 minutes. But now, the pressure has increased multifold with Red Bull denying him preferential treatment over Max Verstappen.

In FP1 at the Hungaroring, even before all the cars could make it out on the track, Perez crashed bringing out the red flags. And this happened because he clipped the grass at Turn 5. As a result, he lost control of the car and his RB19 smashed into the barriers with the front left damaged. A baffled Martin Brundle even called his mistake a “rookie error”. While the team has successfully repaired the car, there is zero room for error left for the Mexican.

Red Bull brought some upgrades to their car for the Hungarian GP. And what should have been a boon for Perez has turned out to be a curse. With his FP1 crash, the 33-year-old has exhausted the spare parts available for his car. And the team has also decided against giving Perez the older car for which spare parts are available. But the biggest blow of all is that Perez won’t get Max Verstappen‘s RB19’s spare parts if he messes up again. The Dutchman will have full rights over the spare parts that are meant for his car.

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So for Perez, RB has closed the door on even the smallest of mistakes in Budapest. But for him, the bigger problem is his mistakes costing him his seat. And a former British racing driver has given his choice of who would best suit the 2nd seat at Red Bull.

Johnny Herbert Touts Lando Norris to Be Perfect Driver to Replace Sergio Perez at Red Bull

Lando Norris has been a force to reckon with in F1 since his rookie year. He has made the best use of the McLaren car to secure good points and podiums. Though he still lacks a race win, he is right up there with the frontrunners. And Johnny Herbert feels that he is the perfect candidate to replace Sergio Perez and drive alongside Max Verstappen.

Herbert told Metro Sport, “If I was choosing there is only one man, and he is in an orange car at the minute. That is Lando. He has a long-term contract and I don’t know what that says or the details of it. But windows of opportunity come up rarely in this sport. When they do you have got to be the man on the doorstep and when that door opens you walk right through.”

Norris and Verstappen are very good friends too. So it could be a dream situation for Red Bull if he replaces the struggling. But none of this has been realized yet. The reality is that Sergio Perez is letting the pressure get the better of him. If he doesn’t get to Q3 today, RB might start the process of looking for potential replacements.

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