Red Bull now considering RB20 change to help Sergio Perez become ‘comfortable and confident’

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When Red Bull decided it would keep Sergio Perez for the remainder of the season, it shocked many in the F1 world given his recent form on track.

It has been a tough season for Sergio Perez, who recently finished seventh in the Belgian Grand Prix after starting from second on the grid. His performance drew criticism from Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko, who said he “completely collapsed” in the race.

While the Mexican blamed several problems with his Red Bull RB20 for his poor performance, Perez has equally failed to deliver on specific performance clauses in his contract.

Crunch talks were held in the aftermath of the race in Belgium, but team principal Christian Horner put his confidence in Perez and ended weeks of speculation by confirming there are no immediate plans to replace him.

Now it appears Red Bull are willing to take a further step to help improve Perez’s form in the second half of the season. According to journalist Scott Mitchell-Malm on The Race podcast, the team could make changes to its upgrade plans at the upcoming races.

Red Bull could make changes to upgrade plans

The RB20 started off the season as the benchmark package for every team following the success of the RB19, which won 21 of the 22 races last season.

Red Bull has consistently brought upgrades to its car in the last couple of races, but they have not worked as intended for the Milton Keynes squad. One of those areas has been with a key component on the floor of the RB20, having brought six configurations in an attempt to seek out more performance.

Given how the upgrades have also had an impact on Perez’s performance, Mitchell-Malm believes Red Bull might make changes to accommodate the Mexican and help regain his confidence in the car.

“It is quite likely, based on what I’ve heard, that there might be some rolling back of upgrades going on to get the car back into a state where Perez was comfortable and confident in the car,” said Mitchell-Malm.

“The idea being, and these are hypothetical numbers just for illustrative purposes, but let’s say one or two upgrades ago, the RB20’s potential was at 95% and the upgrade it’s got on the car now it’s at 99%. If Perez can get the maximum out of the 95% RB20, that’ll be more competitive than getting 90% out of the current car.”

Sergio Perez must improve to save Red Bull prospects

Even though Perez is contracted with Red Bull through the 2025 season and with an option for 2026, there are real concerns over whether he could be axed if his form does not improve in the last 10 races of 2024.

A theory as to why he is unable to match Verstappen in the same machinery was confirmed recently by Red Bull technical director Pierre Wache who believes the car is often operating at a knife edge for Perez, as it gets trickier to drive and extract lap time.

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

Billionaire Mexican businessman Carlos Slim reportedly played a role in influencing Red Bull’s decision to keep Perez, while rival team boss James Vowles believes the team should have gone with Carlos Sainz after Williams signed him for 2025 and beyond.

Perez might have received backing from Horner, but it is worth noting that Red Bull has done the same to drivers before having dropped Pierre Gasly midway through a season in favour of Alex Albon in 2019.