Czech Perez was being consistent in each of the events of the 2024 F1 season… until the World Cup ended in Imola. He had been able to bag four podiums (three seconds and one third) and was not even out of place in the classifications (Saturdays were his Achilles heel in previous courses). But after the visit to the iconic Italian track, the Mexican has begun to lose bubbles.
Since that Emilia-Romagna Grand PrixCzech has only pocketed eight points. A pyrrhic figure for someone who is behind the wheel of a Red Bull.
In Ímola and Montmeló The Aztec reaped the same result: a sad eighth. Although it was worse Monaco and Canadawhere he was left without adding any digits to his personal account. Due to this bad streak, ’11’ has lost the second place that it had at the start of the competition. What’s more, right now it occupies the fifth position in the general drivers’ standings with 111 points. They precede him in the leaderboard, Max Verstappen (219), Lando Norris (150), Charles Leclerc (148) and Carlos Sainz (116).
As a result of its downturn, Red Bull has not been able to open much of a gap with respect to its rivals in the Constructors’ World Championship. The Milton Keynes team dominates because Max is a lot of Max. But Checo is hurting them. The Austrian team has 330 pointsa figure that has not distanced them too much from Ferrari (270) and McLaren (237).
Horner’s message
That’s why, Christian Horner He has already sent you a message. “We need Checo to get on with it. He knows it and the team knows it”warned the director of the energy drinks team, after the test held in Barcelona.
“If it is so far behind, we lose strategic options. In the first few races this year he was fantastic. We just need Checo to go back to what he did at the beginning. I think he’s had a couple of tough races and things haven’t gone his way. He is a driver who needs the boost of confidence, and I think he will hopefully have regained it to some extent with what happened in Montmeló. In Barcelona he returned to the points zone. He had a decent career. Hopefully, he will gain some confidence for the next races,” Horner wished.
Checo Pérez, in action, in Montmeló.
The burden of poor Saturdays
The truth is that Pérez He is 118 points behind his teammate. And the bloodiest things are again your lazy Saturdays. In Montmeló he completed his fourth consecutive race in which he did not place among the top 10. In the Emilia-Romagna GP he was 11th (Verstappen 1st); in Monaco, 16th (Verstappen 6th); in Canada, 16th (Verstappen 2nd); and in Spain, 11th (Verstappen 2nd). That is, its average is 13.5 times Max’s 2.75.. Coming out so far from the grid it is practically impossible to shine. Thinking about podiums and victories is a chimera with that average.
Damon Hill’s ‘stick’
Thus, it is not surprising that the 34-year-old competitor is a victim of fierce criticism. Since his renewal was announced, he has been turned off and, for the moment, he seems unable to react.
“Checo enjoys the best car in F1 along with the McLaren and, however, he cannot keep up with Verstappen. His performance is a disaster for Red Bull ahead of the Constructors’ Championship. As much as he tries, he just can’t get close to Max’s pace,” he said. Damon Hillworld champion in 1996, in sky sports.
