At Red Bull, Max Verstappen stands as the undisputed lead driver, carrying the weight of the team’s championship points on his shoulders. Propelling the team with seven victories under his belt, Verstappen’s success has become a testament to Sergio Perez’s shortcomings.

However, it may not be as simple as that. Former F1 driver Juan Pablo Montoya suggests that significant differences between the two cars might be a reason for Perez’s continued struggles.

While Carlos Sainz, Lando Norris, Charles Leclerc, George Russell, and Lewis Hamilton have all claimed race wins this season, Verstappen’s teammate remains conspicuously absent from the list. Despite having one of the best cars, Perez’s top performance has been limited to three second-place finishes.

Following the British GP, where Perez underperformed again, Montoya speculated that Red Bull might be focusing their development efforts predominantly on Verstappen’s car. In F1, it has become a hush-hush norm that teams tend to follow. Sergio Perez’s struggles were highlighted at Silverstone, where he secured only 19th in qualifying and finished 17th in the race.

Montoya, reflecting on his experiences with W Radio Colombia, remarked, “Yes, that is the most horrible thing in the world. Because you are killing yourself, you are working to develop and improve things, and the weekends come and things are in the other car and not in yours. “

The possibility of development bias doesn’t sit right with the driver, who understands that there is nothing anyone can do about it. “And politically one cannot go against anyone, but it happens. It is a horrible feeling, that you do all the development of the parts that you work on, that you work yourself to death and you arrive at the weekend and they beat you with the things that you are developing”There is no arguing that the freshly resigned Sergio Perez has a lot to do to hold onto that seat while also swerving from criticism. Red Bull has tried their best to protect their decision and their driver. However, according to Montoya, “it doesn’t sound like desperation.”

However, at the end of the day, one must ask oneself the age-old question: in F1, is it the driver or just the car?

Sergio Perez refuses to feel the heat
Sergio Perez insists he can’t let speculation about his future distract him as he prepares for the final two races before the summer break. Helmut Marko had stated that the team might have to reopen Perez’s file during the August shutdown and re-evaluate his contract.Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has acknowledged Perez is under pressure, having scored just 15 points over the past six weekends. dropping to sixth in the championships. Both these problems could trigger his release clause and see someone else take his seat.

Thus, Perez knows he has to improve, and so he remains focused on the upcoming races. “I know where I am, in terms of the contract and that sort of thing, that I cannot let be a distraction because I need to focus on the next two weekends, which are the priority, and work together with the team to get out of this difficult period.”

Perez added that taking a break after the triple header would help him reset and return to form for the crucial races in Hungary and Belgium. With his contract secure for now, his focus remains on delivering string performances to solidify his position within the team.