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Hypothesis surrounding Sergio Perez’s Method 1 future has been made extra attention-grabbing by two key Crimson Bull particulars, certainly one of which being contract-related.
Solely in Method 1 can one of many two drivers with race victories by way of the primary 12 races of a season, the identical driver who sits in second place within the world championship standings, be thought of on the “sizzling seat” attributable to “poor efficiency”.
However that’s the place during which Sergio Perez finds himself at Crimson Bull, regardless that he signed a contract final Might to stay with the crew by way of each the 2023 and 2024 seasons.
Perez got here out of the gate sturdy within the 2023 season, and it appeared as if he would at the very least make issues attention-grabbing with teammate and two-time reigning world champion Max Verstappen for the title battle in an RB19 machine that has been by far the category of the sector.
However the 33-year-old Mexican has hit a tough patch as of late, securing solely two Q3 appearances and three podium finishes within the final seven occasions.
In the meantime, Verstappen is using an eight-race profitable streak — 10 for those who embrace the 2 dash races — and opened up a lead of 125 factors (5 full race wins) over Perez within the standings previous to the summer time break.
And so right here we’re, with hypothesis as to who might probably take Sergio Perez’s seat as early because the 2024 Method 1 season.
In accordance with Dutch publication De Telegraaf, Perez has a efficiency clause in his contract which may be triggered within the occasion that he falls 125 factors behind Verstappen within the standings. Simply 12 races into the 22-race season, he finds himself precisely 125 factors behind, that means that his contract can reportedly be “adjusted”.
Observe that these potential changes solely pertain to “wage and bonuses”. There’s nothing on this specific clause that may enable Crimson Bull to terminate his deal early or demote him to sister crew AlphaTauri.
Actually, Perez is alleged to have a selected clause in his contract to stop Crimson Bull from shifting him to the sister crew, given the truth that that has occurred to a number of Crimson Bull drivers previously.
Moreover, for as well-known of a model as Crimson Bull is, Perez’s presence as a member of the crew has been felt in a giant approach, with roughly 65% of all on-line Crimson Bull gross sales going to Mexico.
Within the enterprise that’s Method 1, the advantages of getting that kind of driver can’t be overstated.
All issues thought of, there isn’t a authentic motive to imagine that Perez gained’t be again subsequent 12 months. Do Crimson Bull have a historical past of creating early driver adjustments? Sure. That’s “how they do it”, based on Lewis Hamilton.
However there are many different situations of them not working in that method, and even amid Perez’s current struggles, Crimson Bull discover themselves with greater than twice as many factors as second place constructor Mercedes.
And let’s not overlook that Perez nonetheless sits in second place within the standings. It’s not as if he’s hindering the crew. Except for Verstappen, Perez is in the very best place. In a aggressive area that has seen a number of groups difficult to be second quickest on any given weekend, that can not be taken evenly.
Plus, Perez has begun to rediscover his type as of late, coming into the summer time break contemporary off back-to-back podium finishes and a entrance row begin in Spa. And even throughout his current five-race streak of failing to succeed in Q3, he made up a mean of seven.6 positions per race. Sundays should not his subject and, fairly frankly, by no means have been.
And regardless that Verstappen in the end breezed previous him for the lead and subsequent victory at Spa, it’s arduous to choose a driver who would have had any simpler of a time stopping such a seemingly inevitable prevalence.
Whereas the main focus was on Verstappen scoring his eight straight win, it’s value remembering that Perez’s laps led in Spa have been the primary laps he led since Verstappen handed him late within the Miami Grand Prix again in Might, stopping his teammate from main the world championship for the primary time in his profession.
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