Helmut Marko: Sergio Perez cannot challenge Verstappen for the title
Red Bull's Helmut Marko has explained his belief that Sergio Perez cannot defeat Max Verstappen in the same machinery over the course of a season.
The relationship between Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez was heavily scrutinised in the last races of 2022, following the controversy at the Brazilian GP.
Perhaps more importantly, Red Bull's ability to appease Sergio Perez was put to the test - as the Mexican driver vented his frustrations post-race at Interlagos.
Whilst all parties claim that any issues from Brazil were addressed, there is still the question of whether tensions will reappear in the future.
Perez has performed well for Red Bull in the last two seasons, making crucial contributions in Turkey and Abu Dhabi last year to help Verstappen secure the F1 title.
Despite this, question marks inevitably arise about Perez's status in the team relative to Verstappen.
Verstappen has clearly shown himself to be the 'number one' at Red Bull, so there is no controversy regarding his status in this regard.
However, it will be interesting to observe how successfully Red Bull can keep Perez's morale high whilst Verstappen secures the lion's share of accolades.
In an interview with SPORT BILD, Helmut Marko was asked if he believes Perez can outscore the Dutchman:
"Checo can certainly win a race or two. But at the moment, I don't see that he can challenge Max for a whole season.
"In general, I don't see anyone with the same prerequisites can do this currently."
It must be stressed that every F1 team will inevitably have a driver who outperforms the other, so this is not the point of contention.
The critical aspect for Red Bull is avoiding a repeat of the sour relationship between Vettel and Webber from 2010-13.
Whilst Red Bull still dominated the sport in these years, it would be unwise to suggest that Perez can be easily replaced.
Red Bull has all the leverage in this scenario, given that Perez - even if he is unhappy with his position in the team - is still securing wins and podiums he would not achieve elsewhere.
Additionally (although Helmut Marko's comments are probably unnecessary), it is no secret that Verstappen currently enjoys a comfortable edge over his teammate.
Still, the next few months and years will further test Red Bull's management of their driver pairing.