Where Red Bull would rank in the F1 constructors’ championship with two Sergio Perez

Follow us on Google Discover

Max Verstappen could have won Red Bull the 2023 constructors’ title on his own, but the disappointing season Sergio Perez has endured may now see it slip away in 2024.

The team from Milton Keynes have won the past two constructors’ titles, as well as the past three drivers’ championships through Verstappen, to see Red Bull become six-time winners. Only Ferrari (16), Williams (9), McLaren, Mercedes (8) and Lotus (7) have won it more often.

McLaren could pull level with Williams on nine constructors’ championships this year having overtaken Red Bull in the standings. The Woking crew currently lead the field after 18 Grand Prix and three F1 Sprint events with three of each to go with 516 points over Red Bull’s 475.

Red Bull won the 2023 constructors’ title with a dominant 860 ahead of Mercedes with 409. Such was their dominance that Verstappen could have gifted Red Bull the constructors’ title on his own with 575 points. Perez got 285 points in 2023, enough for fifth if he were a team.

This season, Verstappen’s drivers’ championship-leading 331 points would place Red Bull in fourth – two points ahead of Mercedes – while Perez’s 144 would only leave them in fourth thanks to Aston Martin being fifth with 86. So, where would Red Bull be with double Perez?

Red Bull would be fourth in the constructors’ championship if Max Verstappen was a Sergio Perez clone

Red Bull would not drop any of the points that the team scored from the Bahrain Grand Prix, the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix or the Japanese Grand Prix. Perez finished the races in second whilst Verstappen won, as Red Bull started the year with three one-two results in four races.

A brake failure for Verstappen in the Australian Grand Prix saw the Dutchman retire as Perez went on to finish in just fifth place. If both of the Red Bull drivers were Perez in this instance, the Milton Keynes team might have left Melbourne with an extra P6 plus those eight points.

READ MORE: Everything you need to know about Red Bull Racing from engine to Ford links

The hypothetical second Perez scoring Red Bull eight extra points in the Australian GP would have even taken two points off Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll, two from RB’s Yuki Tsunoda, two off Fernando Alonso and one off both Haas drivers, Nico Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen.

But Red Bull would have lost points, especially to McLaren, at the 2024 Chinese Grand Prix if Verstappen had Perez’s results in Shanghai. Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes split the Bulls in the F1 Sprint and Lando Norris of McLaren split Verstappen from Perez in the actual Chinese GP.

Similarly, the Miami Grand Prix would have seen Red Bull drop one point to Ferrari in the F1 Sprint plus a further three in the race. Charles Leclerc split Verstappen and Perez in the two races with second place in the F1 Sprint and third in the Miami GP as Norris got his first win.

The Emilia Romagna Grand Prix would come as a huge blow for Red Bull if Verstappen was a Perez 2.0, as well. While Verstappen just held off Norris to win by 0.725 seconds at Imola, all the Mexican managed was P8 as Perez also finished the Emilia Romagna GP 54.776s back.

Red Bull then saw the Guadalajara native kick off what became a dismal run when Formula 1 visited Monte Carlo. Perez crashed with Kevin Magnussen on just the first lap of the Monaco Grand Prix while fighting for the final places. He knew the Dane was near yet closed the line.

As Red Bull struggled as a team in Monaco, Verstappen only ended the race in sixth place for eight points. So, a Perez 2.0 scenario would not be as major in the Principality as it would be at the Canadian Grand Prix where Perez crashed all on his own whilst Verstappen would win.

The Spanish Grand Prix would also be a repeat of the Emilia Romagna GP as Verstappen won in front of Norris, while Perez would only manage P8. But Verstappen crashing with Norris in the Austrian Grand Prix and finishing in P5 as Perez got P7 sees Red Bull lose just two points.

READ MORE: Red Bull driver Sergio Perez’s life outside F1 from net worth to nickname

In theory, McLaren would have won the Austrian GP with Norris instead of George Russell of Mercedes picking up the pieces. But for the purposes of this theoretical Perez 2.0 scenario, only the points that Verstappen would lose as a clone of the Mexican are taken into account.

Red Bull would also lose 18 points for Verstappen’s P2 in the British Grand Prix, where Perez finished two laps down after beaching his car in qualifying. Perez can blame Red Bull, partly, for his result at Silverstone after gambling with his strategy amid the early mixed conditions.

It was not Red Bull’s fault that Perez crashed with Carlos Sainz at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, however. The pair crashed out on the penultimate lap in Baku while fighting for the podium places. Perez could have even avoided the incident by utilising the acres of space on his left.

Another frustrating time then awaited the Mexican at Marina Bay as Perez failed to overtake Haas driver Nico Hulkenberg in the Singapore Grand Prix. The German frustrated his former Force India teammate in a race that Verstappen secured P2 and winner Norris lapped Perez.

All in all, then, Red Bull would stand to lose 138 of their 516 points this year if the team had double Perez trouble in their cars, rather than having one car piloted by Verstappen. That is more points than Aston Martin, Visa Cash App RB, Haas, Williams, Alpine and Sauber boast.

Red Bull would lose 138 of their 516 points in 2024 with Sergio Perez in their two cars

So, F1 Oversteer below lists Perez’s results from each of the 18 Grand Prix staged so far this season, plus the three F1 Sprint events, alongside the points that Red Bull would have taken in each round had Verstappen been a Perez 2.0, with the points difference listed in brackets.

Were Red Bull to lose the 138 theoretical points Verstappen would not score as a Perez 2.0 clone, the team from Milton Keynes would fall to fourth in the constructors’ championship behind Ferrari and Mercedes. McLaren would also hold a 97-point lead in the teams’ table.