Pink Bull crew principal Christian Horner has made it clear as soon as once more that Sergio Perez should enhance his efficiency, calling the Mexican’s present factors deficit to teammate Max Verstappen “unsustainable”.
After performing nicely within the opening six races of the season, Perez has scored simply three prime ten finishes since final Might’s Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, with seventh in Austria his finest outcome.
At Silverstone, Perez endured one other dismal race weekend, qualifying a lowly twentieth following a spin in Q1 and concluding Sunday’s British Grand Prix nicely down the order in seventeenth place.
Pink Bull had opted to launch Perez’s race from the pit lane following a strategic engine change, and on the laborious tyre, presumably banking on a one-stop technique, however a mid-race rain bathe squandered that plan
“After all it’s irritating when each of your automobiles aren’t performing collectively,” commented Horner after the race. “It was irritating to lose Checo in Q1.
“He’d missed [first practice] due to Isack Hadjar driving. He had an honest P2. He in all probability ought to have been across the prime six after which to lose that automotive in Q1 was very irritating.
“This weekend nothing’s actually gone his method. We took a bet within the race. He began on the laborious tyre, he was making first rate progress early on within the race.
“The rain began to reach, he was P15 or 16 on the time. You roll the cube at that time, as they did with Leclerc. We went onto the inter.
“If the rain had picked up he’d have regarded a hero. It didn’t, so we had an additional cease and the time loss being on an inter on a drying monitor was hemorrhaging a number of time for him.
“So clearly quite a bit to take a look at from over the weekend.”
Past the specifics of Sunday’s occasion at Silverstone, Horner acknowledged that Perez’s continued underperformance is untenable.
“He is aware of it’s unsustainable to not be scoring factors,” stated Horner.
“We now have to be scoring factors and he is aware of that. He is aware of his function and his goal and so no one is extra keen than Checo to get again.”
The spectre of a mid-season driver change at Pink Bull is now hovering over Perez based mostly on a efficiency clause inserted in his contract.
Based on a report from Motorsport.com, Pink Bull could be allowed to oust Perez ought to he fall behind Verstappen by greater than 100 factors within the Drivers’ standings at key championship factors – which means at F1’s summer time break and at season’s finish.
At present, Perez sits 137 factors behind Verstappen with simply two races left earlier than F1’s shut-down interval.
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Whereas it has been rumored that RB’s Daniel Ricciardo may make a sensational return to Pink Bull, this week will see Pink Bull reserve Liam Lawson take a look at with the Milton Keynes-based outfit at Silverstone, the Kiwi having fun with an outing within the context of a 200 km-limited filming day.
It has been speculated that the proficient 22-year-old may substitute Perez, however Horner downplayed such a prospect, insisting that Lawson’s take a look at was deliberate months in the past.
“The Liam aero run has been deliberate for a few months now and for Checo, after all he’s below strain. That’s regular in Method 1,” Horner stated.
“And while you’re below delivering, that strain solely mounts. He’s conscious of that, he is aware of that and this weekend nothing has gone his method.”
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