Sergio Perez Dubbed to Put Red Bull’s Invaluable Tradition to Shame by Driving Alongside Max Verstappen

The Red Bull junior academy was, and probably still is, one of the most coveted organizations in the entirety of motorsport. That being said, the allure of it all seems to have diminished substantially in the past couple of years. But when a team has produced talents like Sebastian Vettel, Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz – to just name a few, how does their credibility take such a massive hit?

Well, for starters, since 2019, the team has promoted and relegated their drivers on a whim. Pierre Gasly and Alex Albon stand out as prime examples of this fact. And now, in 2023, Nyck de Vries consolidates the view. But there is a far more concerning fact that may actually reveal the reason why many believe the Milton-Keynes-based outfit has started to falter.

Sergio Perez derailed the Red Bull academy

Sergio Perez arrived at Red Bull in 2021 as a ‘non-Red Bull’ driver in a long, long time. However, he went on to help Verstappen secure his maiden F1 title and subsequently, in 2022, he helped the team win their first constructors’ title since 2013. Then why is Perez an indication of Red Bull’s apparent failure?

While on the Sky Sports F1 podcast, ex-Red Bull driver Jaime Alguersuari explained, “For me, right now, and I’m going to be very clear with you. The fact that Checo Perez is driving for the Red Bull Racing team is quite clear that the Red Bull junior team is not any more successful.”

He went on, “Because the whole idea, and that’s what they told us and that’s what they told to the media and everyone was that we are building up champions. We are building up the best drivers we can and give them an opportunity to drive for Toro Rosso, nowadays AlphaTauri in order that they get experience in Formula 1 so we can upgrade them to the bigger team which is Red Bull.”

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While Perez may have highlighted Red Bull’s academy failures, will he also spell the end of Red Bull’s B-team?

Perez rings AlphaTauri’s death knell

AlphaTauri or Toro Rosso, as we’ve all come to know and love the team, has been Red Bull’s B-team, its testing ground for young drivers. That being said, with the practicalities of having a young driver system becoming too cumbersome for the outfit, will AlphaTauri lose its place on the grid?

According to F1 pundit, Mark Gallagher, “They did it because Dietrich [Mateschitz], not only had this idea and vision of driver development with Helmut Marko, but also politically it gave them an extra seat at the table in the Ecclestone era of Formula 1, but that’s no longer relevant. Formula 1 has changed with new owners, so they can sell that team for a huge amount of money.”

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After the damage he’s done to Red Bull’s heritage, will Perez survive within the team beyond 2023?