Performance is everything in F1 – and for Red Bull’s Sergio Perez, it has most certainly been under intense scrutiny in past days, weeks and months. Former Formula 1 racer Christijan Albers has now shared his blunt perspective on the situation, questioning whether the Mexican has what it takes to maintain his seat alongside the unstoppable Max Verstappen at Red Bull.
Despite having a contract signed for 2024, ‘Checo’ found himself back in the depths of controversy when he crashed out at turn 1 after an ambitious move from P5 on the grid just 800 metres into his home race. Reflecting on the incident, Albers – Dutch like Verstappen – acknowledged that Perez’s approach was aggressive but not entirely out of line.
“I actually don’t think he did anything wrong there. Of course he turned in too early, but so did Lewis Hamilton, a seven-time world champion, in Qatar,” Albers shared with De Telegraaf. “I prefer that someone goes for it and tries to improve their position – the problem was simply that he squeezed too quickly. (Charles) Leclerc just couldn’t do anything about it.”
However, when it comes to assessing Perez’s overall fit with Red Bull, Albers does not mince words. “I’m not a Perez fan,” he stated plainly. His rationale? “Simply because he doesn’t improve over a weekend even though he has all of Max’s data. The gap in qualifying is simply too big.”
“He’s just really lacking,” 44-year-old former Minardi and Spyker driver Albers added.
