Sergio Perez’s $3 million Blunder Provides Golden Opportunity for Frederic Vasseur and Co

Sergio Perez is in the fast lane towards a Red Bull exit. His horrific Lap 1 crash at the Monaco GP with the Haas of Kevin Magnussen has not only increased the doubts around his competency to be driving a championship-winning car but also cost Red Bull nearly $3 million in damages. Such an enormous bill during a strict cost-cap era will massively impact their constructors’ championship. While the Milton Keynes outfit scrambles to pick up the pieces, Ferrari is going from strength to strength.

With the entire field converging in the third year of the ground-effect era, Perez has become Red Bull’s Achilles heel. Even though Max Verstappen is the favorite to win the drivers’ championship, Ferrari has also become a strong constructors’ championship contender. With only 24 points separating them, Perez’s costly crash has served Frederic Vasseur & Co with a golden chance to overtake Red Bull. But here’s the interesting part. Ferrari won’t have to wait long to change the pecking order as the Canadian GP up next is expected to be a nightmare for RBR.

During the 2023 Canadian GP weekend, Verstappen had revealed how the RB19 was “not fantastic over the bumps and curbs”. On the other hand, their 2024 car, the RB20, is reportedly even worse on such bumpy tracks, as seen in Monaco. Plus, Sergio Perez’s RB20 has suffered terminal damage, as per reports. Hence, Red Bull will have to spend more time on reparations than thinking of tackling the car’s inherent problems on such circuits. This opens the door for Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz to make it two double podiums in a row.

Former F1 driver Ralf Schumacher even declared that “Perez must be replaced as soon as possible”. While that is an extreme step, RB advisor Helmut Marko is still heartbroken with Red Bull’s major setback.

Helmut Marko highlights Red Bull’s “big handicap” after Sergio Perez’s crash

Sergio Perez’s Monaco GP lasted only a few hundred meters. In that period, he nearly equalled Logan Sargeant’s career crash damages. Kevin Magnussen, who has received numerous penalties for his dangerous driving in 2024 with 10 points on his superlicense, made headlines yet again for the wrong reasons in Monaco. His incident that caused Perez’s RB20 to be scattered all over the track wasn’t received well by Helmut Marko.

“It’s another accident in which Magnussen was involved,” Marko said, as quoted by Mirror. “Thank God it turned out well, but it was a very critical situation. I was surprised how quickly they put this incident behind them,” he added, slamming the FIA’s decision of not investigating the crash thoroughly.

“These are decisions that you can hardly influence,” the 81-year-old added. “On the one hand, there is the danger and on the other hand, the damage is two to three million. With the budget regulations, that is a big handicap for us,” he further said.

Will Sergio Perez be able to redeem himself on Canada’s treacherous Circuit Gilles Villeneuve? Or will the Mexican prove Ralf Schumacher’s stance to the Red Bull bosses?