Max Verstappen ‘hurt less’ as Sergio Perez sends Red Bull message over RB20 struggles

Sergio Perez said the current problem facing Red Bull “hurts Max Verstappen less”, given the way he drives the car – and the team “needs to find a solution.”

Red Bull have seen themselves reeled in and even overtaken in the competitive pecking order by McLaren this season, with both Ferrari and Mercedes having shown their strength at different circuits as the year has progressed.

Sergio Perez: Current Red Bull issue ‘hurts Max Verstappen less’

Verstappen is on his longest run without a win since 2020, going six races without victory, while Perez will be returning this weekend to the scene of his most recent time on the top step of the podium, with the Azerbaijan Grand Prix coming up.

He said at Monza that the problems that had been befalling him this season may be starting to affect his Red Bull team-mate, as the pair appeared closer together on track at the Italian Grand Prix, finishing sixth and eighth respectively.

But with that said, he believes the three-time World Champion is able to adapt due to how he drives the RB20.

“The current issue that we have hurts Max less with his driving style. The team needs to find a solution in that regard on how the car is operating,” Perez told The Times .

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In terms of how he can go about changing, however, he revealed he was working during the summer break to improve on how he is able to bring his best to Red Bull, after a difficult first half of the season.

While he explained the drivers on the grid are there for a reason, there is always room to learn more in his craft.

“It was having a refresher on how I see things [in the car], how I explain things to the engineers,” Perez said.

“You’re constantly learning. I find that the talent or speed that you have is there, but it is about how you extract everything out of the speed you have.

“We are all super fast, the fastest drivers in the world, but it’s how you extract everything out of yourself.”

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