F1 News: Helmut Marko Slams Sergio Perez And Yuki Tsunoda After Mexico Errors

Saajan Jogia | Oct 27, 2024

Sergio Perez of Mexico and Oracle Red Bull Racing and Oracle Red Bull Racing Team Consultant Dr Helmut Marko look on in the garage prior to Sprint Qualifying ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Austria at Red Bull Ring on June 28, 2024 in Spielberg, Austria. / Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images

Red Bull's Sergio Perez and sister team VCARB's Yuki Tsunoda have come under fire from senior advisor Helmut Marko after the Mexico City Grand Prix qualifying. While Perez was out of the session in Q1 after securing P18 for the race start, Tsunoda's "unnecessary crash" came under Marko's scrutiny, prompting him to suggest the incident was a result of pressure from his new teammate Liam Lawson.

Perez has faced a difficult season to date, with his performance standing in stark contrast to his last podium finish at the Chinese Grand Prix in April. Since that race, the Mexican driver has experienced a notable decline in form. It was later revealed that a balance issue with his RB20 was impacting his performance, a situation that only came to light after his teammate Max Verstappen began to encounter similar problems with his own car.

Despite the two-year Red Bull contract extension in May, Perez was under threat of being ousted from Red Bull. Recently, Marko revealed that the team was assessing Lawson and Tsunoda's performance for the remainder of the 2024 season to decide who would be fit to secure the seat alongside Verstappen next season.

Perez missed another opportunity to redeem himself at his home race in Mexico as braking issues with his RB20 hindered his ability to push to the limit. Although he indicated that data could substantiate his claim that the qualifying result was not his fault, Marko stressed that the anticipated improvement in Perez's performance had not "materialized." He told Sky Deutschland:

“The hoped-for upturn that we all expected has unfortunately not materialised.

“He complained on the radio about his brake problems. At least that’s what I heard. We have to see what exactly was going on, but unfortunately, the recovery that we all expected did not happen.”

Responding to comments made by Perez's father, Antonio Perez, in a recent interview where he expressed confidence that it is only a matter of time before his son claims the title of Mexico's first Formula 1 champion, Marko stated:

“All due respect to a father’s optimism, but…”

The second driver to face criticism from Marko was Tsunoda, whom the 81-year-old advisor believes is under increasing pressure following Lawson's arrival at the team after the United States Grand Prix, where he replaced Daniel Ricciardo. Addressing Tsunoda's qualifying crash, Marko said:

“It was an unnecessary crash, I would say.

“He had that spin in Austin and now in qualifying this crash.

“We thought it had all stabilised, but now with the pressure from Lawson, it is noticeable.”