On the finish of final season, RaceFans’ resolution to put Sergio Perez because the twentieth ranked driver out of twenty-two in 2023 – forward solely of Nyck de Vries and Logan Sargeant – was not one taken frivolously.
It mirrored the inconsistency, the underachieving and the errors that the veteran driver made in what might be one of many best Formulation 1 vehicles of all time – and probably the most statistically dominant F1 automobile ever constructed.
Simply over midway via 2024, Perez has secured a contract extension maintaining him with the world champions into 2025 and, probably, past. Certainly, meaning the 34-year-old has turned a nook? Proper?
Sadly, if something, Perez has solely turn into extra of a legal responsibility for Crimson Bull than he was final yr. After 14 rounds, he sits solely seventh within the championship. He has solely 47.29% of his staff mate’s factors whole – decrease than his proportion on the finish of final season. Out of the highest 4 groups, George Russell is the one driver behind him within the standings – and would have been forward had if he had not been disqualified from Spa.
After the Chinese language Grand Prix, Perez sat second within the standings after a strong begin to the season, adopted by an unremarkable Miami weekend. However then, he endured a six spherical run that was worse than any driver within the subject all season.
It began with crashing in ultimate apply at Imola, then being eradicated in Q2, earlier than ending eighth within the race after a visit via the gravel midrace. Then he was knocked out of Q1 in Monaco earlier than being caught up in a daunting opening lap crash.
Instantly after celebrating his new contract extension, his Canadian Grand Prix weekend was woeful. He did not get out of Q1 – once more – clashed with Pierre Gasly in the beginning, then was overtaken by him, earlier than spinning into what would ultimately be retirement at flip six, inflicting heavy rear harm to the automobile. A grid penalty affected him in Spain however he was nonetheless a minute behind his race-winning staff mate in eighth, then was simply pure sluggish in comparison with staff mate Max Verstappen and was by no means greater than seventh in any session.
Extremely, the issues continued into Silverstone. Whereas Verstappen was searching down Lewis Hamilton for the win, Perez was two laps down in seventeenth after spinning out of Q1, prompting Crimson Bull to gamble on intermediate tyres, a method that didn’t repay. Because the stress was mounting approaching the summer time break, Perez then made one more mistake in qualifying in Hungary, crashing out of Q1 on the damp monitor, forcing him to battle to get better to a good seventh place.
Apart from Suzuka, simply his finest weekend of the season, Perez’s performances in 2024 up to now have hovered between ‘common’ and ‘poor’. It’s telling that his strongest outcomes in the beginning of the season got here when Crimson Bull clearly held a efficiency benefit over their rivals. As soon as that vanished, Verstappen has continued to battle and claw for each win and each podium. Perez has merely wilted underneath that very same stress.
The tough actuality is, no different driver within the subject up to now in 2024 has made as many errors, has had fewer robust weekends or has been destroyed so comprehensively by their staff mate as Perez has. And whereas there’s little disgrace in being crushed by a triple world champion and certain probably the greatest drivers of all time, it’s very onerous to not assume that a lot of his friends on the grid would probably have achieved a greater job in Perez’s automobile up to now this season.
Crimson Bull want Perez to return to Zandvoort a driver reworked. If he doesn’t, then he might genuinely be prone to costing his staff the constructors’ championship.
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