Tom Coronel claims Red Bull’s rivals can develop ‘50% better feeling’ in their cars for one key reason

Max Verstappen secured his fourth consecutive Formula 1 world championship at the Las Vegas Grand Prix as the Red Bull driver held off pressure from his rivals in the second half of the season.

It was a strong certainty that the Dutchman would walk away from Las Vegas with his fourth title, as he only needed to beat Lando Norris in the race to seal the deal.

Verstappen may not have had an answer to the rapid Mercedes, but he did enough to secure the drivers’ championship with fifth ahead of Norris in sixth. Joining five other drivers who have achieved the feat of four titles, Verstappen sees an eighth championship as his ‘ultimate goal’ in F1.

But the 27-year-old’s 2024 win was far from plain sailing, as Red Bull have seen a drop in performance this season compared to their dominance in 2023 – where they won all but one race.

The likes of McLaren, Ferrari and Mercedes have taken strides forward in development and have proven to have had faster packages than Red Bull for much of the season. Tom Coronel believes there is one key reason for this.

McLaren, Ferrari and Mercedes can produce ‘50% better feeling’ than Red Bull as they have ‘two good drivers’

While the drivers’ championship is in the bag, Red Bull have fallen behind McLaren and Ferrari in the constructors’ standings. A key factor for their underperformance is Verstappen’s teammate Sergio Perez, who has desperately struggled in comparison to the Dutchman.

The Mexican is eighth in the standings – 251 points behind Verstappen – which has ultimately hampered the Milton Keynes-based outfit in their defence of the title as their rivals’ driver pairings have displayed consistency with regular points finishes and top results.

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For Coronel, McLaren’s line-up of Norris and Oscar Piastri, Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz, and Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton and George Russell allows them to produce ‘50% better feeling’ in their car than Red Bull as they boast ‘two good drivers’ in their cockpits.

Discussing Red Bull’s difficulties in 2024, Coronel said via racexpress: “It didn’t go any less, the rest went better, then it seems like it [was] less. Of course, he [Verstappen] felt that the balance was a bit less and the updates did not work so well and with the others, it did work well.

“I see some difficulties, look, all the teams you just listed, McLaren, Ferrari, Mercedes, has two good drivers. So in my opinion, they can develop 50% better more feeling, [they] can share with your engineers to make something beautiful.

“And with Max, it can really only be done by him because Perez doesn’t have the speed. So if you really look at it that way, I think if I have to say ‘No, guys, where do you think that is?’ They need two good drivers, that’s it.”

Will Sergio Perez be with Red Bull in 2025?

Despite having a contract until at least 2026, Perez could be replaced before the 2025 season as potential clauses in his deal could allow Red Bull to part ways with him after Abu Dhabi.

While Verstappen has secured eight victories this season, Perez has not finished on the podium since the Chinese Grand Prix or the top five since the Miami Grand Prix.

The 34-year-old failed to get out of Q1 for the fifth time this season in Las Vegas and he produced a recovery drive to 10th. Christian Horner wants to see Perez further up the field in the last two races as the Red Bull boss hopes to keep their chances of winning the constructors’ title alive.

Danica Patrick has told Perez it’s time to retire after this season, which would leave Red Bull in a difficult position to find a replacement. RB’s Yuki Tsunoda and Liam Lawson are options, but time will tell if the Milton Keynes-based outfit decides to pull the plug on Perez at the end of the year.