Ferrari legend and former Brawn GP and Mercedes team principal Ross Brawn has admitted that he wants to see “someone more competitive” racing for Red Bull than Sergio Perez, as the Mexican isn’t challenging Max Verstappen.
Perez is very much Red Bull’s number two driver, with him rarely able to take the fight to the three-time World Champion.
It was a very different story in the opening rounds of 2023, as Perez was able to win two of the opening four races.
However, from the Monaco Grand Prix onwards, mistakes have been made too often by the 33-year-old.
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As a result, he currently finds himself a staggering 266 points behind Verstappen.
Perez’s struggles have resulted in him coming under significant fire from the media regarding his seat, which many believe he should lose.
Red Bull have stressed that the 33-year-old is their driver and that this won’t change next year, as they’re keen to respect his contract for 2024.
Whether he’ll be offered a new deal for 2025 is currently unknown, although the expectation is that Daniel Ricciardo will return after spending a full year with AlphaTauri.
Brawn is keen for someone new to be alongside Verstappen to ensure that the racing remains exciting even if one team dominates, similar to how Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton jostled at the front during their partnership at Mercedes.
“Even though they have this domination at the moment, you will see it in time,” Brawn said on TalkSPORT.
“And we’re seeing little indications. I mean McLaren with [Lando] Norris and occasionally [Oscar] Piastri, they’re knocking at the door, keeping them honest, let’s put it that way.
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“I think over this winter, I’m optimistic that there will be a reset. When you’re at the front, you have the advantage of being able to start the design of your new car earlier and that’s when that domination can sometimes run for several years.
“What I want to see quite frankly is someone more competitive in the other car because unfortunately Sergio’s [Perez] not putting up much competition for Max [Verstappen].
“And even when you get a dominant car, if you can get someone in the other car who’s giving them a hard time and we think of [Nico] Rosberg and [Lewis] Hamilton, that was a great year and year when Mercedes were dominating.”