Important Sergio Perez moment after Belgian GP showed the ‘pressure is getting to him’

Follow us on Google Discover

Unless something dramatic happens over the Formula 1 summer break, Sergio Perez will still be a Red Bull Racing driver at the Dutch Grand Prix.

It’s a race where Sergio Perez has had mixed success since it returned to the grid in 2021.

He’s scored points on all three visits to Zandvoort but is yet to finish on the podium at Max Verstappen’s home race.

That’s despite being in one of the quickest cars on each of his visits to the track and given the precarious position he’s currently in, that’s a stat he’ll be desperate to change.

Red Bull met on Monday to decide whether Perez warranted a seat alongside Verstappen for the final 10 race weekends of the campaign.

Their lead in the Constructors’ Championship has been whittled away by McLaren and there’s only so much Verstappen can do to prevent that.

With Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris both in brilliant form and possessing a car that’s at least on par with Red Bull if not slightly quicker, they’re under serious pressure.

Speaking on The Race Podcast, journalist Samarth Kanal was speaking about Perez’s behaviour after the Belgian Grand Prix.

What should have been a strong race for the Mexican driver after a brilliant performance in Q3 turned into a disaster as he slipped down to 7^th.

Perez finished behind his teammate despite having a nine-place advantage over him at the start of the race.

When facing the press, Perez’s mood suggested that he was potentially addressing the media for the final time as a Red Bull driver.

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

Sergio Perez let the pressure get to him after the Belgian Grand Prix

Speaking about Perez’s situation and how he dealt with the increased scrutiny on his position, Kanal said: “I think the painful thing is when you see a driver get so close to redemption, and then the contrast between him and the redemption bit and his bad day, his bad race day, gets even worse.

“I mean, that almost kind of overshadows the good job he did on Saturday, and it just makes it look even worse what he did on Sunday.

“It wasn’t good, and his mood after the race was pretty spiky, I would say. I mean, at one point, I think he snapped and said, you know, I’m not going to say anything else about my future.

“It seems the pressure is getting to him.”

Kanal’s colleague Scott Mitchell-Malm added: “He’s been talking as if this is all fictional, and it’s just speculation from nowhere, and it’s a media-driven narrative and agenda, but, you know, we’ve been sort of discussing between ourselves this weekend.”

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

Why the pressure built on Sergio Perez up to the Belgian Grand Prix

Given Red Bull’s history when it comes to making changes to their driver line-ups, it’s a surprise to see Perez survive Monday’s meeting about his future.

Even in their first season in the sport, Christian Klien and Vitantonio Liuzzi shared the second seat in the team alongside David Coulthard.

Since then, Klien, Pierre Gasly and Daniil Kvyat have all failed to see out a season with Red Bull and their sister team is equally ruthless.

They may feel hard done by given the form Perez has shown up to this point which appears to have kept him in a race seat for the time being.

He’s failed to finish on the podium since the Sprint Race in Miami and out of the top eight drivers in the championship, only George Russell has less top three finishes in Grand Prix.

If it weren’t for the Brit’s disqualification at Spa and his unfortunate retirement at Silverstone, Perez would comfortably be the worst-scoring driver out of the top four teams.

Verstappen is no longer in a position to win a Constructors’ Championship on his own and while he can win a fourth individual title without Perez’s help, Red Bull need more than that when it comes to securing the championship that pays out prize money at the end of the season.