Sergio Perez has admitted that he’s under “constant pressure” from the media at Red Bull, something he’s never experienced before or seen at any other team.
The Mexican is currently in his third season with the Milton Keynes-based team; however, his place at the side for 2024 has been questioned by reporters.
Perez does have a contract with Red Bull for 2024, although his current performances have been well below par.
After starting the season with two wins from the opening four races, Perez has endured a bit of a downward spiral, which he recently showed signs of recovering from.
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Ahead of last weekend’s Hungarian Grand Prix, Perez was on an unwanted run of no Q3 appearances in five races, a period of time which saw him claim just one podium despite having the strongest car on the grid.
He thankfully ended his poor qualifying streak somewhat, after making it to Q3 at the Hungaroring.
Even there though, he could only salvage ninth on the grid.
Perez was able to finish third at least, following a strong recovery drive.
On the other side of the garage though, Verstappen is on a run of seven consecutive wins and leads Perez in the standings by 110-points.
It’s a daunting place for Perez to be, with him openly admitting that the vast majority of drivers would “sink” alongside the Dutchman.
“90 per cent of the drivers would sink next to Verstappen. If you are not mentally strong you cannot be at Red Bull,” Perez told Mundo Deportivo.
“Here you should not underestimate the level of pressure you are under. Red Bull is a team where if you have a bad session, you already have five drivers in your sights. It is constant pressure from the press.
“In these three years, I have never seen this in any other team before. With Ferrari, Aston Martin, Mercedes, whatever team you name, all their drivers have had difficult moments, but nothing happens. It’s not like [that] at Red Bull, where you have a bad time and now you have to leave the team.”
Verstappen has been imperious this season, but he also hasn’t been very supportive of his team-mate.
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At the British Grand Prix recently, the 25-year-old admitted he could win the Constructors’ Championship “alone”.
“I don’t know why it went wrong today, but of course, with our car you have to get into Q3,” Verstappen said after qualifying at Silverstone, where Perez was eliminated in Q2.
“You have to ask Helmut [Marko] or Christian [Horner] about that. We are fighting for the team championship, but I think I can do that alone at the moment.”