Sergio Perez delivers emphatic response to rumours of impending Red Bull demise
Red Bull driver Sergio Perez in serious conversation with Helmut Marko.
Sergio Perez “couldn’t care less” about rumours Daniel Ricciardo is coming for his race seat, the driver adamant he has Red Bull’s full support.
In the midst of a qualifying slump, one that has seen him fail to feature in the top-10 shoot-out for the last five race weekends and only once recover to reach the podium, Perez is – according to the media – slowly walking towards the Red Bull gallows.
His position hasn’t been helped by comments from Helmut Marko in which the Red Bull motorsport advisor all but said Perez was only still in his seat because Red Bull would otherwise lose his 156 points.
Sergio Perez unfazed by rumours of his pending exit
“We really want to finish second in the Drivers’ Championship too. If we change drivers, the points are gone, so for us it’s not even an issue,” he told Kleine Zeitung after the British Grand Prix.
The pressure is mounting on the Mexican driver’s shoulders, especially after Red Bull put Daniel Ricciardo in the AlphaTauri in what is being seen as audition for Perez’s seat.
The 33-year-old has brushed off the rumours.
“If I’m honest, I couldn’t care less,” he said as per Motorsport.com.
“I’ve been in Formula 1 for 13 years and I’ve seen everything. I’m not worried about that. My main focus is on finishing my season and making sure I continue to enjoy it.
“The whole team is behind me and they know what I can do. They know my potential and they support me.”
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The six-time grand prix winner is convinced it’s only a matter of time before he bounces back from his qualifying troubles, reiterating that it’s small details he needs to iron out.
“I think it’s just the amount of detail,” he said. “In the last few races I’ve been a bit more sensitive with the car, especially on Saturday when I was running low on fuel. That’s something I’ll be working on with the team in the simulator.”
“And we have some ideas. But we operate in such a small window of details. We just need a strong Saturday.
“And the positive thing is that the pace is there on Sunday, where the points are awarded at the end of the day. But we just have to sort ourselves out and have a clean weekend because the pace is there.”
He added: “So I’m not overly concerned, I think we had a great Friday [at Silverstone] pace wise. We just need to get qualifying under control and we’ll be fine.”
With 156 points to his team-mate Max Verstappen’s 255, Perez’s best shot in the championship now is holding onto second place.
That could yet be the determining factor in whether or not Ricciardo gets a look-in at his race seat.
“At the end of the day it’s all about where we finish in Abu Dhabi,” Perez maintained. “So it’s still a long season and I really believe I’ll finish my season can get it under control again.”
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