F1 News: Max Verstappen Jumps To Sergio Perez's Defense Amid Red Bull Exit Rumors

Saajan Jogia | Oct 30, 2024

Oct 20, 2024; Austin, Texas, USA; Oracle Red Bull Racing drivers Max Verstappen, left, and Sergio Perez are introduced at the drivers parade at the Formula 1 Pirelli United States Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas. Mandatory Credit: Jay Janner-Imagn Images / Jay Janner/USA TODAY Network via Imagn Images

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen has called out the RB20's performance problems, blaming the issues for his teammate Sergio Perez's performance slump that has been ongoing since the Chinese Grand Prix. The Dutchman believes Perez will naturally improve if Red Bull gives him a better car.

The Mexican driver has been going through a challenging year as mid-season balance issues with the RB20 first impacted his car, leading to criticism of his form. However, it was only after similar issues emerged on Verstappen’s car that it became clear the underperformance was due to the car’s setup, not the driver. Currently, Perez is 8th in the Drivers' Standings with 150 points, 212 points behind leading driver Verstappen's 362 points.

However, persistent car issues have allowed McLaren and Ferrari to edge past Red Bull in the Constructors' Championship, highlighting the impact of Red Bull’s unresolved technical challenges. Last weekend in Mexico, Verstappen was handed a 20-second penalty for pushing Lando Norris off the track in two separate incidents. However, the three-time world champion admitted after the race that he was more concerned about the car's pace than anything else. He told the media:

“At the end of the day, if you agree with it or not, it doesn’t matter because the penalties are given.

“That was also honestly not my biggest problem of the race, my biggest problem was that we just had no pace. Just struggling a lot on the tyres, couldn’t really attack, and I couldn’t follow Ferrari and McLaren.”

He added:

“I mean I knew that was going to be tough. It never felt great so, yeah, I knew that it was going to be very difficult to keep them behind.”

Perez endured a disappointing home race, finishing seventeenth after a clash with VCARB’s Liam Lawson, having qualified in eighteenth. The 34-year-old reported braking issues on his RB20 throughout the weekend, but the poor race result saw him become the topic of speculation regarding his potential ousting from Red Bull. However, Verstappen believes his form will improve if Red Bull improves the car. When asked about the challenge his teammate was facing, he told Sky Sports F1, as reported by Racingnews365.com:

"I mean, at the moment, this is not our biggest problem.

"We need to improve our car, because if the car is better, naturally, Checo will improve. 

"But I am not thinking about these kind of scenarios, I'm only thinking about how I can be faster with the car. 

"Austin was promising, but [in Mexico], we were really off, and I just hope that in Brazil we can be more competitive again."