Sergio Perez told to ‘live with it’ as Hamilton and Verstappen comparison made

Jamie Woodhouse
Red Bull drivers Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez walk and share a joke at the 2023 Japanese Grand Prix.

Red Bull drivers Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez share a joke.

Ex-F1 racer Ralf Schumacher says Max Verstappen, like Lewis Hamilton, Michael Schumacher and Ayrton Senna, “makes the difference” and so Sergio Perez must accept that Red Bull “sides” with Verstappen.

Perez made an impressive start to the F1 2023 campaign, the opening four rounds producing two wins apiece for he and Verstappen, leading to talk of a Perez title challenge.

However, such hope faded from there, Verstappen having now won 15 grands prix this season as he secured a third World Championship crown at the Qatar Grand Prix.

Sergio Perez told to “live with” Max Verstappen-Red Bull reality

It is not only Perez’s title push which has crumbled though, his season overall having fallen into disarray as speculation swirls over his Red Bull future.

And as Perez now battles to hold on to the runner-up spot amidst a challenge from Lewis Hamilton, Perez has pointed to the RB19 development programme for answers to his alarming slump in form, having made the podium only once in his last six outings.

But, what Perez is experiencing now, according to Ralf, is the same as what the likes of Hamilton, Senna and his brother Michael Schumacher inflicted on their team-mates at the peak of their powers.

Quite simply, he says Red Bull will follow the results, those being delivered by Verstappen, and so Perez must “live with” this fact.

“Max makes the difference,” Schumacher told F1-Insider.com. “Every great champion tries to tune the car for his needs and also have it developed.

“It was like that with my brother, with Senna and also with Lewis Hamilton. The lower-performing team-mate has to live with it.

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“It’s up to each driver to convince his team. A Formula 1 team always sides with the driver who promises more success. That’s the way the business was and is.

“He drives the same car as Verstappen and can’t keep up with him. The race in Austin was not bad. But to celebrate a fifth place, which was Sergio’s before Hamilton’s disqualification [due to excessive plank wear on his Mercedes], is simply too little for a Red Bull driver.”

Verstappen took to the top step of the podium for the 15th time this campaign after the US Grand Prix, though was met with boos from a section of the fanbase, the Mexican portion as per the words of Red Bull senior advisor Helmut Marko.

The booing did not sit well with Schumacher, who says Verstappen should receive “respect” and “applause” for the level he is operating at.

“The boos against Max were unspeakable,” said Schumacher.

“He makes the difference as a driver and that’s why the fans should pay respect to his special performances with applause.”

Hamilton’s disqualification was a huge boost for Perez’s efforts to claim a runner-up finish in the Drivers’ Championship, as he now heads into his home race, the Mexican Grand Prix, with a buffer of 39 points.

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