Sergio Perez arguably faced more criticism than any other Formula 1 driver last season. And at the time, it seemed wholly justified.
While Max Verstappen won the championship, Perez finished eighth in the other Red Bull, 285 points adrift. After a promising start, he unravelled in dramatic fashion, scoring only 67 points in the final 19 rounds of the season.
He failed to reach Q3 nine times and crashed out of three races. And yet, Perez refused to take sole responsibility for his Red Bull woes.
Instead, he painted it as a collective failing, with neither team nor driver able to understand his problems. Red Bull didn’t see it that way, which is why they negotiated an early separation in December, having given him a new contract in June.
But it only took two races, over the course of seven days, for Perez’s image to change significantly. Liam Lawson was a statistical downgrade on his predecessor, performing so poorly that he was demoted back to Racing Bulls after just two races.
Helmut Marko insists he only ‘talked about tequila’ with Sergio Perez
Speaking to the formel1.de YouTube channel, Helmut Marko revealed that he’d spoken to Perez this week after the news broke. He insisted that their conversation didn’t concern F1.
But it’s hard to imagine that the topic of Lawson’s exit didn’t come up. His coy expression may have been a giveaway in that regard.
Sky Germany pundit Ralf Schumacher says Red Bull should have signed Nico Hulkenberg, insisting he would have solved the second driver problem. Hulkenberg was without a seat at the end of 2020 when they signed Perez.
Asked if he’d ‘called Perez since everything happened’, Marko smiled and replied: “Yes. We talked about tequila!
Pressed on whether there was a ‘certain satisfaction in his voice’ after two vindicating races, he said: “Once again, I had a drink afterwards and he had a drink with me. He’s involved in a tequila company.”
Reflecting on the 2021 move for Perez, Marko added: “Back then, Sergio Perez won his first Grand Prix [in Sakhir]. That was exactly when the decisions were being made. The majority [of the team] were in favour of Perez.”
Cadillac boss may have changed his mind about Sergio Perez after seeing what happened to Liam Lawson
Perez didn’t want Red Bull to sign Tsunoda as his replacement. He feared that the Japanese driver would suffer a similar fate.
Few would dispute that he’s worthy of a promotion in light of his upward trajectory at Racing Bulls. But it’s unclear why Red Bull think he’ll succeed where four highly-rated predecessors failed.
Perez may yet have the chance to return to F1. He’s 35 years old, but hasn’t given a public indication that he wants to move on from the sport for good.
Encouragingly, Mario Andretti says Lawson has made Perez look ‘very, very good’ this month. Andretti is an advisor to Cadillac, who offer the most realistic route back to the grid.
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