Sergio Perez seen here in happier times in Hungary with Red Bull bosses, is under pressure to retain his drive. Photo / Don Kennedy
Although the Constructors’ and Drivers’ championships have been decided in favour of Red Bull and their world champion, Max Verstappen, the F1 ‘circus’ as it is sometimes called, rolls on into Austin, Texas, for the United States Grand Prix.
Verstappen will be aiming for a three-peat, having won the race in 2021 and 2022, at the Circuit Of The Americas (COTA). His teammate, Sergio ‘Checo’ Perez, might be fighting to retain his Red Bull drive, despite having a contract for 2024, and Red Bull boss Christian Horner publicly stating Perez will drive for the team next year.
Austin could be like an OK Corral for Perez’s F1 future. It has been suggested he has been told he could lose the drive if he doesn’t secure second place in the Drivers’ championship.
He had, to use Horner’s own words, “a shocking race” in Qatar, which Verstappen won. You could say that in the hottest race held this year, Perez was metaphorically and literally, in the hot seat after crashing out in the Sprint race, and only finishing 10th in the grand prix.
Rumours were posted on websites that he would announce his retirement from F1 at his home race in Mexico City, the weekend after the race in Austin.
That rumour has been strenuously denied by those close to Perez, but it has reopened the debate as to whether he might be replaced next year by Daniel Ricciardo, who will return from his hand injury, to drive for Alpha Tauri this weekend. If that happens, it could leave the door open for Liam Lawson, who proved to be a super-sub for Ricciardo for five races with Alpha Tauri, to secure a fulltime drive with that team next year.
There are also rumours that the top management at Red Bull wants Red Bull adviser Helmut Marko, who is believed to be the one that has the final say on who drives for both Red Bull and Alpha Tauri, to have no further say.
When Red Bull owner Dietrich Mateschitz was alive, Marko’s position as a non-Red Bull employee looked safe but it is being suggested both Horner and new sporting CEO Oliver Minzlaff now want him out. Horner also reportedly wants Yuki Tsunoda replaced at Alpha Tauri.
Marko meantime insists Red Bull has no candidates to replace Perez.
“I may be repeating myself,” Marko told SPORT1, “but Perez has a contract that we want to respect. We are doing everything to get him back on track.
“We lack alternatives. Otherwise, he would possibly have a problem.”
Marko did not mention Ricciardo, Lawson or Tsunoda as being possible alternatives to Perez, but he did name one driver who could be a candidate.
“At the moment I can only see one who could come close to keeping up with Max, Fernando Alonso.”
Given the latter is 42 years old, and probably will only race for one more season, it is highly unlikely he will be joining Red Bull.
He apparently had the opportunity to do so for the 2008 season, after losing the 2007 championship by one point when in an acrimonious pairing with Lewis Hamilton at McLaren, but decided instead to return to Renault to wait for a seat to become available at Ferrari, which it did in 2010. Given Sebastian Vettel went on to win four titles with Red Bull between 2010 and 2013, Alonso could have become a six-time world champion, given he had two titles with Renault in 2005 and 2006.
Perez wasn’t the only driver to have some issues in Qatar. Hamilton had a crash with his Mercedes teammate, George Russell, at the first corner, which he initially blamed Russell for, but later admitted was 100 per cent his fault. It remains to be seen whether this will lead to some future friction between the two drivers, but Russell is proving that he is not prepared to pay second fiddle to Hamilton like Valtteri Bottas did. His approach is more akin to that of Nico Rosberg, who took Hamilton on at every available opportunity, resulting in some memorable clashes on and off the track.
Russell admits wanting to push Hamilton, along with a few others.
“I can very, very confidently sit here and say there’s probably five drivers on this grid that you put in the best car, they will win the championship,” he said.
“I have no doubt about that. Of course, Lewis is one of those guys and if I’m going head-to-head with him week in and week out, you know, that gives me the benchmark. There’s sort of no doubt now that I truly believe in myself, and the team believe in me. And that’s been really down to the fact that being teammates with Lewis I have held my own so that now I can just focus on my job and go out there week in, week out and just try and maximize the performance.”
Hamilton lost out in that clash with Russell in Qatar, as he couldn’t continue, but Russell went on to finish fourth. Then Hamilton was hit with a fine of 25,000 Euro for crossing the live racetrack. And now comes the news that the FIA will revisit that incident because Hamilton is seen as a “role model’ and “the FIA is concerned about the impression his actions may have created on younger drivers”. Just how they might further punish Hamilton is not clear.
As Ricciardo returns to racing this weekend in Austin, where he will likely turn up wearing a Stetson hat, he has come under verbal attack from former world champion Jacques Villeneuve. Ricciardo is considered a marketing dream because of his ever-present smile, but the 1997 champion has criticised him because he’s all about “smiling in commercials”.
“I would ask kids who want to be drivers today if you want it out of passion or because you want to be like Daniel Ricciardo, smiling in commercials?’ he told La Gazzetta dello Sport.
But Villeneuve says he is impressed by Carlos Sainz, and of course, Verstappen.
“I like what Sainz is doing because he always improves and has always helped the teams he raced for. But drivers are too protected, they should be left more free-even to make mistakes.”
He also commented on the prospects of other teams beating Red Bull.
“It’s wrong to say Red Bull is unbeatable. The unbeatable one is Max Verstappen. His strength is that he was never a child and was mature even when he was little. He was created to be a champion by a father, who was very hard on him. The truth is that today, Max does not have a single weakness.”
In light of the concerns amongst the drivers who suffered from the heat in Qatar, the FIA has said it will look into those concerns, which included the likes of Lance Stroll nearly fainting, Alex Albon going to the medical centre post-race suffering from dehydration, Esteban Ocon spewing into his helmet, and Logan Sergeant being unable to continue. Alonso complained of a burnt backside and wanted water thrown over him at a pit stop, but the rules don’t allow that, presumably due to the electrics in the car.
Sky Sports F1 commentator Martin Brundle wasn’t actually at that race, yet came out with some criticism of the drivers that could make his Austin grid walk a little awkward if he wants to talk to the drivers.
“It’s races like Qatar and very rainy days which make F1 drivers look like heroes and athletes they are,” Brundle posted on social media. “Absolutely don’t buy into the weak view we shouldn’t put them through this kind of challenge. Check out [Ayrton] Senna in Brazil, [Sir Jackie] Stewart at rainy Nurburgring, [Niki] Lauda post-crash, etc, etc.”
The problem with Brundles’ view is that when he was a grand prix driver, and the legends he mentioned, there were no races in the heat of Singapore or Qatar. So he will have no idea from personal experience, just how much the drivers suffered in Qatar. The speeds they travel at speak volumes for their skill and bravery, and being put on the edge of passing out is not a test of heroism. It’s an exercise bordering on stupidity and disregard for the drivers’ wellbeing.
Getting on the grid is not as easy as one might think. Ask Michael Andretti, whose bid to join F1 as an 11th team in 2025 has passed the first hurdle, which was FIA approval, but is yet to get a second tick from FOM (Formula One Management).
The Andretti-Cadillac bid was the only one of several approaches received by the FIA, which included New Zealand-based Roddin Cars, to be approved, as announced by FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem, who has always wanted more teams on the grid. Most of the current teams oppose having another team on the grid, even though they will benefit from a proportionate share of the $200 million Andretti will have to pay to join F1. The 10 teams don’t want to share the price money currently available with a newcomer.
According to Sky Sport Pit reporter Ted Kravitz, Andretti will have to “fight” for that 11th spot and “play a political game”.
Assuming Andretti is in Austin, he and Brundle could cut lonely figures on the pre-race grid! Andretti might have an ally in Perez, given he too is fighting for his future, and maybe even a job offer for 2025.
Sources: F1.com; Red Bull Racing
Man arrested after firearm, meth, 60 bags of cannabis and stolen e-scooter found.