New Sergio Perez ‘change’ theory emerges after tension with Max Verstappen

Sergio Perez’s improved relationship with Max Verstappen influenced Red Bull’s decision to hand him a new two-year contract earlier in the F1 2024 season.

That is the belief of Dutch F1 reporter Erik van Haren, who says Perez now “knows his place” alongside Verstappen after some high-profile flashpoints between the pair in previous seasons.

Sergio Perez ‘knows his place’ alongside Max Verstappen at Red Bull

Red Bull announced in June that Perez had signed a new two-year contract, committing him to the team until the end of the F1 2026 season.

Yet with Perez struggling on track, finishing no higher than seventh since the Miami Grand Prix in early May, the Mexican found himself at serious risk of being dropped during the recent summer break.

Red Bull reserve driver Liam Lawson and VCARB’s Daniel Ricciardo had been considered the leading candidates to become Verstappen’s team-mate for the rest of F1 2024 before team principal Christian Horner confirmed Perez would remain in place following the August shutdown.

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Perez has played a key part in Red Bull’s success, including three straight Drivers’ titles for Verstappen and Constructors’ Championship triumphs in 2022/23, since joining the team ahead of the 2021 campaign.

However, the relationship between the drivers became strained in 2022 when Perez was accused of crashing deliberately in qualifying in Monaco to ensure that he started ahead of Verstappen, which set up his victory at the principality the following day.

Later that season, Verstappen responded angrily to Red Bull’s request for him to swap positions with Perez to help his team-mate secure second place in the Drivers’ standings.

Perez also put up a fight against Verstappen in early 2023, winning two of the first four races of the season in Saudi Arabia and Azerbaijan to pose a brief inter-team threat.

Appearing on the F1 Nation podcast, Van Haren claimed that Perez is now aware of where he stands compared to Verstappen at Red Bull, with the Mexican enhancing his hopes of being retained by becoming more accepting of his wingman status.

Van Haren said: “I think it changed a bit after ’22 when they had their incidents as well in Monaco and Sao Paulo.

“Last year as well, at the beginning, Checo started really good, but I think now this year it changed.

“He won two of the first four races [in 2023] and then he was saying: ‘I want to be Champion.’ And his father was quite a big voice in the Mexican media.

“And this year, we didn’t see anything of that at the beginning of the year when Checo was in quite good form as well.

“I think he knows his place and I think that was the reason for Red Bull to give him a two-year extension at that time, to create some silence and some peace in the team.

“But that didn’t work out because his performance was not good enough the months after.

“But I think they genuinely hope that he will do better and that at race tracks where in the past where he performed well, like Baku, he will get his form back.”

PlanetF1.com revealed earlier this month (bottom) that doubts over both Ricciardo and Lawson had helped persuade Red Bull to retain Perez entering the second half of the season.

Van Haren admitted that he was “quite surprised” by the decision, with Perez’s performances over the remaining 10 races set to determine whether he stays at Red Bull for F1 2025.

Asked if Perez will be Verstappen’s team-mate next season, he said: “That depends on the next couple of months.

“I was quite surprised they kept him for the rest of the year, but I think the explanation is that there is not a guaranteed good replacement, someone who would be doing it for sure better than him.

“With Ricciardo and Lawson, there are too many doubts about [them] in the team.”

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