‘I hear’… How Sergio Perez’s crashes have ‘held back’ Red Bull’s US Grand Prix upgrades

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Sergio Perez has been one of the poorest performers on the Formula 1 grid this year, at least relative to his teammate. Perez is yet to beat Verstappen in a race that both drivers have finished.

The Mexican also trails 17-1 in qualifying, the largest deficit in the field. He finally managed to outpace Verstappen in Azerbaijan, but he crashed out of the race on the penultimate lap after tangling with Carlos Sainz.

In the standings, there is a 187-point gap between the two drivers. Last year, it stood at a record 290, and it could feasibly be even bigger this time around.

There are some mitigating circumstances. Red Bull build their car around Verstappen, who has a highly sensitive ‘Call of Duty’ driving style in the words of former teammate Alex Albon.

And the RB20 has been especially difficult to drive. Indeed, even Verstappen himself has become increasingly vocal about the car’s handling problems in recent months.

But this still doesn’t explain the gap. That’s why Perez has been at risk of losing his seat since the summer, and is far from guaranteed a spot on the 2025 grid.

Robert Doornbos says Sergio Perez repair bills have hurt Red Bull

Perez has also crashed out of three different races in 2024. Before the incident in Baku, he was involved in a shunt with the two Haas drivers at the start of the Monaco GP that completely destroyed his car.

He also spun into the barriers during a wet race in Canada before another off in tricky conditions during qualifying in Hungary. According to former Red Bull driver Robert Doornbos, the resulting repair bills have hampered the team’s car development.

They were having to spend their funds (which are now limited by the budget cap) on fixing his RB20 rather than improving it. Doornbos says the team have used up almost five spent of their funds on damage.

To compound matters, they already have the smallest allocation of wind tunnel time under the rules as the 2023 champions. McLaren, who were fourth last year but now lead the way, have taken advantage of this mechanism.

“I hear that they are being held back in development at the team because so much damage was caused by Perez in those first six months,” Doornbos says. “That cuts into the work budget they have.

“The total budget for the year is almost five percent of damage, already driven by Perez. They of course have the least time in the wind tunnel as the reigning champions.”

The Liam Lawson result that would be ‘very bad news’ for Sergio Perez

It’s unclear what exactly Perez has to do between now and Abu Dhabi to guarantee that he’ll stay put. Much will depend on Red Bull’s US Grand Prix upgrades.

The team are bringing a raft of new parts to Austin, and the more effective they are, the higher expectations for Perez. It’s a strange paradox.

It may be easier to outline what he must not do. The 34-year-old has failed to reach Q3 six times this year and finished outside the top eight twice, and that kind of result may cost him his final allies.

Indeed, it would be ‘very bad news’ for Perez if new rival Liam Lawson beat him in a meaningful session. Lawson’s RB car is the sixth-fastest on the grid and should be competing for ninth or 10th at best.