Why Sao Paulo Grand Prix crowd may ‘boo’ Sergio Perez amid Red Bull woes

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Sergio Perez urgently needs a big performance at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix if he’s to have any chance of keeping his Red Bull seat. As it stands, Liam Lawson looks like the strong favourite to partner Max Verstappen next year.

F1 paddock rumours suggest Red Bull could sack Perez after Brazil, though the likeliest outcome remains a change over the winter. The 34-year-old has been defiant in the public domain, repeatedly pointing out that he has a contract.

But Christian Horner and Helmut Marko have confirmed that his seat his up for grabs. Horner is willing to give Perez time to improve, but Marko has already run out of patience.

There are few reasons for optimism on Perez’s side of the garage. His miserable run of form has been going on for around six months now, with his superb performance in Azerbaijan – he outpaced Verstappen and was on course for a podium before dramatically tangling with Carlos Sainz – looking like an aberration.

That suggests his engineers are at a loss as to why he’s so far off the pace. Perez lamented a lack of upgrades in the United States and he still won’t be running the same spec as Verstappen.

He finished fourth at this race last year when Red Bull were still dominant. Fernando Alonso memorably passed him on the final lap of the race to steal the last podium spot.

Sergio Perez could face Brazilian Grand Prix boos if he drives like he did in Mexico

Speaking on The Race F1 podcast, Brazilian journalist Lito Cavalcanti said the Sao Paulo crowd would rally behind Perez if he shows fighting spirit. They want to see the driver who refuses to accept defeat in wheel-to-wheel combat.

Perez was nicknamed the ‘Minister of Defence’ back in 2021, his first year at Red Bull. That was after his valiant rearguard against Lewis Hamilton at the title-deciding Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

However, if the 34-year-old doesn’t change his approach after Mexico, there could be boos. Perez was the last classified finisher at his home race, coming home 17th after race-ruining contact with Liam Lawson.

“If he brings back his usual old style of the fighter, of the driver that never accepts being overtaken, who fights back corner after corner, people will cheer for him,” Cavalcanti said. “But if he comes in the way he was driving in Mexico, they will boo him.”

Mika Hakkinen on the ‘terrible’ issue Red Bull have thanks to Sergio Perez

Racing driver Justin Bell thinks Perez will be ‘traumatised’ by what happened in Mexico. If that’s the case, then he will look even more inhibited out on track.

It’s unclear what he has to do to change the narrative and regain support. An end to his podium drought, which stretches back to the Chinese Grand Prix in April, could go a long way.

Mika Hakkinen says Red Bull have a ‘terrible’ data issue because Perez is so far off Verstappen. They can’t use his telemetry to guide the development of the car.

And when Verstappen is restricted to limited running – like in FP1 in Mexico last weekend – he can’t lean on his teammate. From an engineering standpoint, that’s a major concern.