Red Bull advisor Dr Helmut Marko has admitted that he sees Fernando Alonso as the only driver who’d be able to keep up with Max Verstappen, if the Spaniard raced for Red Bull.
Marko’s comments come after Sergio Perez endured yet another dreadful Grand Prix last weekend in Qatar, with Lewis Hamilton now being just 30 points behind in the fight for second in the Drivers’ Championship.
Perez was incredibly fortunate that Hamilton crashed on the opening lap, given that the Mexican finished P10.
Concerningly, the 33-year-old has scored just a single point in the last three races, with Red Bull desperately needing Perez to find some form to secure P2 in the standings.
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Red Bull have never claimed a 1-2 in the Drivers’ Championship, something they should really achieve with ease given how superior their car is.
However, Perez just can’t get the most out of the RB19 currently and is clearly putting himself under immense pressure.
As things stand, there is little chance that Red Bull will retain Perez for 2025, although Marko has stressed that the team will “respect” his deal for next season.
“I repeat myself, but Perez has a contract and we want to respect it,” Marko told Sport1.
“We’re doing everything we can to get him back on track.”
One of the main reasons why Perez’s position is safe for 2024 is that Marko has admitted that they “don’t have any alternatives” currently who they think will perform better than Checo.
If they did have a driver ready to take Perez’s place though, then the 80-year-old has noted that the Mexican “might have a problem”.
“We just don’t have any alternatives. Otherwise he might have a problem,” Marko admitted.
Perez is seemingly struggling with being Verstappen’s team-mate, given just how dominant the Dutchman is.
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Verstappen is winning races with ease, whilst Perez is having to work ridiculously hard just to get into Q3.
Drivers unable to cope with the pressure of being alongside Verstappen is something which has been seen several times, with Marko believing that only Alonso could deal with the three-time World Champion.
“At the moment I only see one person who could come close to keeping up with Max – Fernando Alonso,” said Marko.