Max Verstappen delivers open and honest verdict on Sergio Perez’s form

After a strong start to the F1 2024 season, Red Bull Racing driver Sergio Perez has seen his performances dwindle while rumors swirl about whether or not the team should replace him with a VCARB racer.

But if there’s one person on Checo’s side, it’s his teammate Max Verstappen , who defended some of Perez’s recent performances as being “unlucky” due to a “tricky” car.

Max Verstappen: “It’s very hard to be consistent”

The court of public opinion has not been kind to Sergio Perez. No sooner had the Mexican racer signed an extension of his contract with Red Bull Racing than his performance began to fall off — leaving his future very much in doubt as his bosses began being peppered with questions about performance clauses.

Surprisingly, Max Verstappen was extremely generous when asked about Checo during pre-race media sessions ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix. He denied that Checo has somehow given up, or has stopped providing feedback.

“At the end of the day we are teammates, and we always try to give our feedback to the car, and that’s also what Checo has been doing,” Verstappen said. “So he’s been always fully contributing to that.

“But of course we cannot deny that the last few weeks have been a bit difficult. I would say also some were a bit unlucky.

“In qualifying for example in Silverstone, that off then cost you your qualifying. You start in the back, and especially in a race like that, it’s very difficult to progress.”

Taking it a step further, Verstappen also noted that he feels his teammate is pushing himself to the maximum in order to improve.

“I think also he wants to do better, but I know that he’s working very hard,” Verstappen said of Perez.

“It’s not that he takes it for granted or whatever.

“Hopefully here, when the car suits his driving a bit more, everything feels connected, it can work a bit better for him.”

In order to further justify his defense of Perez, Verstappen pointed to his own issues with the RB20, and the fact that the car has been riddled with issues all season long.

“Our car has been a bit tricky at times. We were always chasing balance, and then also as a driver, it’s very hard to be consistent, because you’re always having to deal with different kinds of balance issues,” he said.

“Even for myself, the last few weekends have been very challenging to get the best out of the car.

“The team knows that, so we tried to get the car in a bit more of an operating window, a bit more predictable.”

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The Dutch World Champion reiterated to media several times that he and Checo have regular conversations about improving the car — but not about Checo’s future.

“We just talk about what we can control or influence, and that’s the car,” Verstappen said.

“We want to have a faster car. We talk about the balance of the car, we talk about what we need from the car.

“I think that’s always been a strong point [of the team].”

Verstappen also took care to note that, again, he doesn’t feel as if this lapse in performance is due to some fault of his teammate’s.

“I feel like he’s giving everything, and that’s the only thing you can do,” Verstappen said.

“Also to tense up or stress about it, that’s not going to help the situation as well.

“We just work as a team, and everyone is always very committed, and of course everyone wants to help each other to be better.”

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