Sergio Perez ‘whole environment of Red Bull’ admission after Gasly and Albon resurgence

Sergio Perez has admitted that he only realised upon joining Red Bull “the amount of challenges there will be” – which extend beyond being Max Verstappen’s team-mate.

Perez is in his fourth season at the team after short-lived stints for Pierre Gasly and Alex Albon, both of whom have gone on to perform well for Alpine and Williams respectively since leaving the Red Bull stable.

Sergio Perez on challenges of ‘whole environment of Red Bull’

Perez signed a new two-year deal with Red Bull earlier this season, but his future came under scrutiny after a drop-off in form alongside Verstappen, with the team subsequently backing him at the summer break stage to stay in place.

Given the high bar that Verstappen in particular sets at the team, it has proven to be a challenging environment as he has gone about winning three World Championships in a row, and currently leads the Drivers’ standings as he looks to earn a fourth.

That in turn places pressure on Perez to perform, and with the lead in the Constructors’ Championship for Red Bull having dropped to eight points after the Italian Grand Prix, the onus is on him to drive to his best at this stage.

With the team having replaced drivers mid-season in the past, the Mexican admitted that it “doesn’t work for everyone” as a Red Bull driver.

“When you are outside here, you don’t realise the amount of challenges there will be, not just driving alongside Max,” Perez explained to The Times .

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“It’s with the whole environment of Red Bull. I only realised when I joined it, because you’ve seen great drivers, like [Pierre] Gasly, [Alex] Albon, they go to other teams, and they’re fantastic drivers, but it doesn’t work for everyone here.”

As the lead in the Constructors’ standings has ebbed away, McLaren could feasibly take the lead after the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

With Perez being the only repeat winner around the Baku City Circuit and with Azerbaijan being the location of his most recent race victory, he is looking to turn that around.

Despite that, though, he admitted it is McLaren with form on their side.

“The momentum is not with us,” Perez said.

“It hasn’t been with us in the last few weekends, but it can turn around. The pressure is on McLaren, I think it is their championship to lose at the moment.

“I would say that if they don’t win the Constructors’, we have taken it away from them. But let’s see how the next few races evolve.”

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