Sergio Perez stood on the top step of the podium trying to cement his future at Red Bull for at least another year when he grabbed the trophy and topped it off with victory on the streets of Baku after an exciting Azerbaijan Grand Prix Head held.
Still, it’s hard to forget the story behind this Red Bull seat and the Red Bull offshoots on their search for the best at Max Verstappen’s side in the team.
It was clear from the start that at the age of 18, Verstappen was a highly talented driver. The youngest race starter, youngest point collector, youngest podium, youngest race director and youngest driver ever to drive a Grand Prix weekend, he now leads the drivers’ standings ahead of Lewis Hamilton.
But the Red Bull bosses simply cannot find the perfect partner for the 23-year-old, who has been his fourth other team-mate since moving from the junior team in 2016.
Verstappen was promoted by Toro Rosso five races in 2016 alongside Daniel Ricciardo at the time, replacing Russian Daniil Kvyat, but since that move we’ve seen a revolving door of drivers on the team.
First up was Ricciardo, who shocked the F1 world in the summer of 2018 when he announced he would sign with Renault two years after Verstappen.
Ricciardo clinched seven Grand Prix victories for Red Bull between 2014 and 2018 – with 30 podiums and three pole positions.
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At the time, Ricciardo said it was “by far the hardest decision” he had made in his life, but “felt that it was now a time when it was good for me to move on and start over somewhere else to make “, with many questions if inter- the team dynamics between him and Verstappen had played a role.
Next was Pierre Gasly, who was called up by the Toro Rosso junior team ahead of the 2019 season, but it was clear he wouldn’t last long.
“I started the 2019 season with Red Bull. I entered Formula 1 with Toro Rosso in 2017, but Red Bull was my first chance to drive for a top team and show everyone what I can do in one of the best cars in the world, ”he said in a post for the stands of the players.
“After a really good year with Toro Rosso in 2018, I received a call from Helmut Marko to let me know that they wanted me at Red Bull.
“I wish I could tell you it was exactly what I had in mind – what I wanted. But it wasn’t. It just wasn’t.
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“From the moment I made my first mistake in a car, I felt like people were slowly starting to turn on me. I had a fall in the winter test and from that moment on the season didn’t really get going. “
Gasly also felt “eaten up” by the media and had twisted comments in the media about his form, with “no one” standing up for him.
He added, “For some reason, I would never fit this seat – it just would never work.”
Gasly was demoted to Toro Rosso in mid-2019 when Alex Albon tried his luck alongside Verstappen.
He lasted a season and a half and continues to serve as a test and reserve driver, but had to make way for Perez.
The Mexican has arguably one of the toughest jobs in this place, despite having 10 years of experience in Formula 1 as the team wants to beat Mercedes for the first time since 2013.
After the Spanish Grand Prix, in which Perez finished in 5th place, team principal Christian Horner admitted that he needed it “desperately” to mix up front in order to lead the fight to Mercedes.
And he did.
When leaders Verstappen crashed at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Perez stepped up and helped Red Bull extend their lead to 26 points over Mercedes.
Still, Horner felt the need to let the media know that despite his satisfaction with Perez, it was only the sixth race and they “have plenty of time” to talk about contracts for 2022.
The post Sergio Perez tries to avoid the danger of a poisoned chalice seat next to Max Verstappen | F1 | Sports first appeared on monter-une-startup.
