MARTIN BRUNDLE HITS OUT AT ‘CUDDLY F1’ IN BRUTAL SERGIO PEREZ ‘FAIL’ VERDICT

Ex-F1 driver turned pundit Martin Brundle is uneasy with what he termed the “cuddly F1” as he assessed Sergio Perez’s Red Bull predicament, saying it is a “fail” every time he misses the podium.

Pressure has mounted on Perez over recent rounds as he battles to keep hold of his Red Bull seat amid an alarming slump in form, the Belgian Grand Prix critical as it represents one final chance for Perez to impress Red Bull before they determine his future over the summer break.

Martin Brundle points to ‘ready’ young drivers in Sergio Perez criticism

Perez is without a podium since April’s Chinese Grand Prix, the Mexican racer suffering a fourth Q1 elimination in his last six appearances last time out at the Hungarian Grand Prix, having crashed out in that opening session.

Perez would deliver a clean drive to P7 on race day, though it did not go far to impress Brundle, who said that in a past, less “cuddly” era of Formula 1, Perez “wouldn’t have seen the inside of that cockpit again” in this form.

Asked how impressed he was with Perez’s Hungary recovery drive, Sky F1 pundit Brundle replied: “Quite impressed, but he shouldn’t have been there.

“I struggle with this cuddly F1, if I’m honest, because when Max [Verstappen] wins, Sergio Perez should be second, and when Max can’t win, he should be first. He should definitely be on the podium every time. Anything other than that is a fail.

“But there are many reasons why they want him in the car. And of course, he’s a world class racing driver, but I’ve known the times, years and decades past, where you wouldn’t have seen the inside of that cockpit again. A long time ago.

“But it works for Red Bull and they know that he could find some form, but there’s so many young drivers ready to go, your Liam Lawsons, and you know, any number of them are ready to step in and do what an Ollie Bearman did, but the teams are quite conservative on this.

“And we know about the commerciality of Sergio, we know about the Mexican Grand Prix coming up, we know he’s a great foil, generally speaking, to Max, doesn’t bother Max and it helps Max to get on well, so all of that, but at the end of the day, he’s got to deliver, because it’s going to cost them the Constructors Championship.”

Red Bull axe looming over Sergio Perez

👉 Significant Sergio Perez development emerges with two drivers in Red Bull contention

👉 F1 driver sackings: The most brutal firings and bitter disputes in F1 history

McLaren has reduced Red Bull’s Constructors’ Championship lead to 51 points ahead of the Belgian GP, Red Bull placing the pressure on Perez to improve for this reason as they chase a third successive crown.

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner had said the team hoped a multi-year deal signed by Perez ahead of the Canadian GP would relieve any pressure and aid Perez’s form, but since it has not, Brundle reiterated the responsibility Perez has to deliver.

“Well Christian has said that to us, ‘we thought that he could relax into knowing he’s safe here’,” said Brundle, “but there’s only 20 seats and this is a tough business.

“It’s tough to get to Formula 1, it’s even harder to stay here and Sergio has stayed here a long time and he’s won races in different teams and he’s a world class driver, but that doesn’t matter.

“They’re spending 400 million a year [sic], got 1250 people running the car or more. You’ve got to deliver.”

Perez is 141 points behind team-mate and Drivers’ Championship leader Max Verstappen going into the Belgian GP.

2024-07-26T14:30:59Z dg43tfdfdgfd