Sergio Perez has received the second vote of confidence this Formula One season. In May he was awarded a new two year deal to race alongside Max Verstappen though just 28 points in the last eight Grand Prix weekends has put the Mexican driver under pressure.

Dr. Helmut Marko confirmed their was a clause in Checo’s contract that would allow the team to dismiss the driver should he fail to meet certain performance standards. At the summer break Sergio is 146 points behind Max and the gap between Red Bull and their closest rivals McLaren has been cut to just 42 points.

For many the decision to retain Perez was a shock although his loyalty to Christian Horner during his troubled times earlier this year will have counted for something. Further, reports this week have suggested that F1’s commercial rights holders may have intervened on behalf of Perez along with Disney who a running a documentary series on Checo during August.

 

 

 

Red Bull influenced over Perez?

Disney are re-launching their Latin American platform and headlining is the documentary series which follows Sergio Perez journey to and through Formula One. Titled, Checo Perez: ¡No te rindas, c**rón!” it will be broadcast exclusively on Disney+ Latin American platforms. The google translation reveals the difference between Latin and Western culture given literally it means “Checo Perez, don’t give up mother f***er”.

When Carlos Sainz was released by Ferrari he appeared a solid bet to sure up the Red Bull number two seat. Yet despite Dr. Helmut Marko praising the Spaniard for his stint alongside Max Verstappen at Toro Rosso, Horner had his preferred option in the returning Daniel Ricciardo.

The Aussie driver too was under threat as the summer break approached given Dr. Marko’s push in recent weeks for the RB’s to return to becoming a junior driver programme team. 

“The shareholders have made it known that it is a junior team and we have to act accordingly. The goal was that he [Ricciardo] would be considered for Red Bull with exceptional performances. That seat now belongs to Perez, so that plan is no longer valid.”We will have to put a young driver in there soon. That would be Liam Lawson,” Marko told Kleine Zeitung.

Williams speak out on the “Sainz clause”

 

 

 

Vowles says Horner should’ve ditched Perez

However, Ricciardo too has survived the executioners axe and for now highly rated Liam Lawson will remain on the side lies.

Williams team. Boss James Vowles finally landed his man Carlos Sainz as the team packed up to leave Belgium. Vowles had nailed his colours to the mast in Canada making it known “Carlos Sainz is Williams number one target.”

Yet the ex-Mercedes man believes Red Bull made the wrong decision in retaining the services of Sergio Perez. “When you’re in Red Bull’s position, where you’ve got a constructors’ championship at risk, it’s always a hard decision,” Vowles told motorsport.com “But yes, I would have Carlos alongside Max.”

f1oversteer.com reports Perez may not be out of the water yet and the team will again asses Checo’s progress in four races time following the Singapore Grand Prix. This would give the new incumbent four weeks to settle in before the final six races of the year which will be run over eight weekends.

Allegations Disney leant on Red Bull over ditching Perez

 

 

 

Norris backed Sainz for Red Bull seat

McLaren star Lando Norris believes Red Bull may regret not signing Sainz too. “I don’t know what their (Red Bull and Mercedes) plans are,” Norris told Sky F1. “Honestly the easy one is just to say Red Bull. He [Sainz] should have gone there in my eyes.

“Obviously I am biased, I know Carlos more than I know Checo and that kind of thing, but Carlos deserves a lot – he is one of the best drivers in Formula One.

“He has proven that countless times and I am a good friend of his. I am happy for him that he is in Formula One and I am happy that he got a drive and that he can try and bring Williams back up,” concluded Norris.

Christian Horner acknowledges Red Bull have backed themselves somewhat into a corner with their current driver lineup telling Sky F1, “We’ve got issues.” Yet the Red Bull boss believes the future is bright and that Dr. Helmut Marko’s academy programme is paying dividends.

Insider reveals current Audi F1 disaster

 

 

 

RB young driver academy “great talent”

“You’ve got to have solutions for tomorrow as well, and I think we’ve got a tremendous pool of talent”, added Horner.

“We’ve got experience, we’ve got youth. We’ve got Liam in the wings, we’ve got Hadjar doing a super job in F2. We’ve got Arvid Lindblad, who I think is a really exciting talent in F3. We’ve got some great talent.”

For now it appears Christian Horner has been able to resist the pressure from Marko to introduce Liam Lawson mid-season although hue is sure to be a consideration if Red Bull change their mind over Perez.

Red Bull were successful in their request for the FIA to relax the super license rules to lower the minimum age for a new F1 driver and Arvin Lindblad appears to be the reason to this petition to have been lodged.

Wolff considered sacrificing driver for Hamilton

 

 

 

FIA tighten regulations

Meanwhile the FIA have moved to tighten the regulations following an incident in China in which Carlos Sainz was involved. During qualifying he stopped on track and the red flag was shown. At the time article 39.6 stated: “Any driver whose car stops on the track during the qualifying session or the sprint qualifying will not be permitted to take any further part in that session.”

Sainz managed to restart his Ferrari and qualified P7 which prompted Aston Martin to protest the final qualifying classification. This was dismissed by the race stewards, despite Carlos being in breach of the letter of the law.

The FIA has now amended article 39.6 to read: “Any driver whose car stops in any area other than the pitlane during the qualifying session or the sprint qualifying session and receives physical assistance will not be permitted to take any further part in that session.”

Brundle confirms Verstappen’s future

 

 

 

Famin denies Alpine/Mercedes 2025 deal

It was not so long ago that the Formula One paddock elite were telling the world F1 was in rude health and had no need for an 11th team on the grid. 

Guenther Steiner stated at pre-season testing in last year: “Five years ago, you could get teams for nothing, you could pick it up. Nobody wanted them and they went out of business.

“Now, all of a sudden, everybody wants a team. But it’s a lot of people that want to come in and the 10 teams which are here are all financially stable, all well set up. It’s a very good environment at the moment, no one is struggling.”  READ MORE