How long do you think F1’s favorite Mexican will survive against Red Bull’s impatience? Sergio Perez’s fall at the Belgian GP shows how the status quo is getting worse for him with each passing weekend. Before stepping into the Belgian GP, Checo was already walking on thin ice. Red Bull boss Christian Horner talked about his frequent failure to score points as opposed to Max Verstappen getting podium wins. Horner even gave a subtle ultimatum, saying, “He knows it’s unsustainable to not be scoring points.”

But at the Qualifying for the Belgian GP, Sergio Perez came close to redeeming himself with a P3 finish. As the polesitter Max Verstappen took a grid penalty for getting a new power unit, Checo jumped to the front row. Still, he failed to impress during the Main Race by losing his position to Lewis Hamilton right at the start. After dropping further down the grid, he ended up 7th in the end. Meanwhile, his teammate, who had started 11th, climbed to fourth place, showing a stark difference in the speed of the two Red Bulls.

Naturally, this has furthered speculations on RBR firing Sergio Perez to bring a new recruit on board. And the possible options that have come up as potential teammates for Max Verstappen include Daniel Ricciardo and current Red Bull reserve driver Liam Lawson. To increase Perez’s troubles, ex-Ferrari manager Peter Windsor added another name to the mix. He gave opinions on a former AlphaTauri racer who might fare better than Checo in the RB-20.

Speaking on which driver Red Bull should pick if they want to replace Sergio Perez, Windsor said to Cameron F1’s host, “I would try to get back Pierre Gasly. That’s what I think. Gasly is driving really well at the moment and he’s super quick and he’s obviously frustrated there at Alpine. He’s the guy I would get. I think they made a mistake letting him go, to be honest. But anyway, I think, Max and Gasly would be a very good team.”

However, in the current situation, every pundit is claiming that Red Bull should hire Liam Lawson in Checo’s place. But why does Peter Windsor think the New Zealander will not be a good teammate for Max Verstappen?

Peter Windsor says Liam Lawson might make Verstappen’s life difficult

Max Verstappen is the current star-boy at Red Bull as he has brought the team some amazing victories. Thanks to the Dutchman, the Milton-Keynes outfit has soared to the top of the Constructors’ Championship in recent years. So, whoever comes in at Red Bull to take Sergio Perez’s place might have to play second-in-command to Verstappen, and also help him get the F1 Drivers’ title trophy. In Windsor’s opinion, Liam Lawson is not an ideal candidate for this job.

The 72-year-old said, “Liam Lawson is very reflexy and very edgy. So anybody that thinks Liam’s just going to jump in and be you know, very, very smooth [with] Max Verstappen, obviously, they’re going to be surprised.” Going by the ex-F1 team frontman’s words, Lawson is very ambitious and he will refuse to help Max Verstappen win races if it means he needs to sacrifice his own Championship points.

Thus, the pool of potential Checo replacements now has three names. It might be the current VCARB racer and eight-time F1 Grand Prix winner Daniel Ricciardo, it can be Pierre Gasly whose 2020 Italian GP win is one of the greatest F1 moments for many fans. Or, it might even be the rookie Liam Lawson who had wowed everyone with a superb points finish at the Singapore GP last year as Ricciardo’s substitute. Who, among these three, do you think deserves the spot beside Max Verstappen the most? Share your answers in the comments below.