Sergio Perez has been under tight scrutiny since his miserable latter half of the 2023 season. Subsequently, fans and experts suggested that the Mexican should be sacked by Red Bull in place of Daniel Ricciardo or Carlos Sainz. However, such theories have not gone well with Antonio Perez, who has defended his son amid rumors flying around in the paddock.
Sergio Perez has always been on the cusp of being axed by Red Bull for the past two seasons. However, he has been able to save his seat even in difficult times, and his 2024 season looks to be going smoothly to secure another contract with the Austrian giant. But the paddock has not left him alone due to the sudden surge in Carlos Sainz‘s performance, and F1 pundits have demanded that the 34-year-old should be replaced by the pacey Spaniard.
However, his father, Antonio Perez thinks otherwise of the situation and has commended his son for his performances.
We will have Checo for 10 more years [in F1]. He has many options and is the most sought-after driver in F1 today, above all, he is the one with the most sponsors, more than Max and [Lewis] Hamilton combined. Companies all over the world turn to him, the best promoter of anything in the world is Sergio Perez. There is never of his merchandise left because it always sells out quickly.Antonio Perez said in an interview
Sergio Perez's father has claimed that he is the "most sought-after driver" in Formula 1, the six-time grand prix winner remains locked in contract talks with Red Bull.
Perez's deal expires at the end of the season, with the Mexican indicating that he expected his future to be… pic.twitter.com/0iKe72HySc
— Fastest Pitstop (@FastestPitStop) April 24, 2024The 64-year-old seemed infuriated by the speculations and claimed that his son would be on the grid for 10 years more. Subsequently, he claimed that Sergio is the most sought-after driver on the F1 grid and is the best bet for Red Bull going forward.
This strong stance of Antonio Perez has left fans to claim that he is just defending his son even after being thrashed by Max Verstappen. However, the Red Bull hierarchy is still optimistic about Perez’s performance and is happy with his strong run of performances in the last few races, which could help the Mexican save his Red Bull seat for longer.
Helmut Marko claims that Sergio Perez has given up on beating Max Verstappen
The 2023 for Perez was off the charts in terms of Helmut Marko‘s patience. The Austrian is known for his lack of tolerance and the former could be regarded as lucky to have not faced the might of Marko’s sword just yet.
Recently, Marko claimed that the 34-year-old was performing well because he gave up on the idea of winning the world championship.
So he tried to get closer to Max[Verstappen] in a technical way with a different set-up. He has given that up. Perez is now taking roughly the same route as Verstappen when it comes to voting. As a result, he loses less time and is significantly better, especially in the qualifying, than in 2023.Helmut Marko wrote on his column in Speedweek
The Austrian revealed that the six-time Grand Prix winner tried to match Verstappen in 2023 by constantly changing the setup, but to his dismay, this did not work in his favor as the gap rose significantly. Subsequently, this led to the Mexican giving up on fighting his champion teammate and following the setup that he chose.
This has now correlated to Perez being closer to the 26-year-old in races and has impressed Marko through his performances. Moreover, the F1 circus would visit Miami next, and Perez reckons that he will be a strong contender for the win next time around. several eyes will be on the Red Bulls around the free-flowing Miami racing circuit.
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