'Think there is already agreement on Perez's departure after the season'
F1 News
- Ludo van Denderen
At Zandvoort too, Sergio Perez was unable to convert his self-acquired, good position in the race into an nice finish. The Red Bull Racing Mexican was 14 seconds ahead of teammate Verstappen early in the race. But after a slider in the rain, a tap on the pit wall and a time penalty, among other things, he finished only fourth, thus missing the podium yet again.
'Mistakes again' Ralf Schumacher therefore observes in his column on Sky Sports. "I think his days at Red Bull are numbered. dr Helmut Marko isn't exactly known for his warm-hearted way of dealing with Perez. I think that Perez as a guy can't handle it so well, that's how I explain these serious mistakes. Perez looked very grumpy, disappointed and also absent all weekend. I think that there were already agreements about a separation after the end of the season.."
Who should Perez's successor be?
Liam Lawson made his debut at the Dutch Grand Prix. Schumacher believes that the New Zealander has performed to the max with AlphaTauri, thus putting himself in the picture for a 2024 seat with the Italian team. The German does not yet see him to become Perez's successor. For that, Schumacher has someone else in mind.
The former F1 driver rather thinks of Lando Norris as Verstappen's future teammate. Although the driver is still under contract with McLaren, "The two seem to be good friends. I assume that Verstappen will ultimately decide who will be his teammate. This is nothing unusual. That was already the case with Senna, my brother also had this right. When a driver like Verstappen contributes so much to the team's success, I also think it's good that you have to totally agree [who your teammate is]," Schumacher said.