Helmut Marko Encourages Scrambling Sergio Perez to “Lean On” Max Verstappen to Defend His F1 Seat

You know how the average horror movie has some happy parts followed by some jump-scares but the overall story doesn’t build up to anything? That is Sergio Perez‘s current F1 season. Even in the horror-show category, he is average. His super-confident teammate, Max Verstappen, has “broken” him. And according to Helmut Marko, the only glue that can fix Perez again is to blindly imitate the Dutchman.

There have been a lot of rumors floating around regarding replacements for Perez’s current seat. And with the kind of policies that the Milton Keynes outfit has, he’ll never even know when the contract is terminated. The only way for him to defend the idolized and sacred Red Bull seat is to pull his socks up and start being consistently on the podium, if not match Verstappen. The only way he can do that, RB’s taskmaster Marko reckons, is by copying his 3rd World championship en route teammate.

According to F1-maximaal.com, Marko talking with Motorsport-Magazin about Perez’s consecutive podium finishes said “Qualifying is his weakness. He puts too much pressure on himself, but now he’s on his way back. He’s now trying to sit better from the start of the weekend and not experiment with his setup, but rely on the data from the simulator and work from there, and maybe lean a little more on Max, even though they have a different driving style.”

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On one hand, the Guadalajara-born racer keeps getting advice from all directions. And on the other hand,  Max Verstappen draws appreciation from everywhere.

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With his 2023 charge, the reigning world champion has won over even the hardest of appreciators. Moreover, the number of fans that he has is not only limited to the audience but also F1 experts and more-experienced former racing drivers. Mark Webber is one such entity that has given the Dutchman credit where it is due.

Webber told Formula1.com. “He’s the one out there executing, he’s dancing when the curtains go back, and he goes out on stage and does it. We know the level of intensity he brings – he’s top drawer. He’s going to enjoy the break. He’s going to come back refreshed and I think because there’s even no pressure on him, it’s even more of an advantage for him.”

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For Verstappen, it’s all well and good. But Red Bull will surely find themselves in a conflicting situation if rivals exploit Perez’s volatility.