McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown has launched a scathing attack on Sergio Perez, after admitting that it’s not Red Bull destroying the field, but Max Verstappen.
Red Bull currently lead the Constructors’ Championship by 256 points, due to having won every race so far this season.
However, 10 of their 12 wins have been claimed by Verstappen alone, with him leading the Drivers’ Championship by 125 points over Perez.
Had Verstappen not won his races, then Red Bull would’ve only claimed five victories, as Perez has finished in P2 behind the Dutchman five times in 2023.
Want to work in Formula 1? Browse the latest F1 job vacancies
That would make the title picture look very different, especially as it would’ve resulted in Aston Martin, Mercedes, Ferrari and McLaren all winning races.
Brown recognises this and admits that if Red Bull had “two Sergios”, then the championship would be “wide open”.
“As much as Red Bull’s killing everyone right now… it’s really Max is killing everyone right now,” Brown told ESPN.
“That Max, Red Bull combination is just unbeatable at the moment and Max and the team isn’t making any mistakes.
“If they had two Sergios in the car, with all due respect, this championship would kind of be wide open. So you’ve got something pretty special going on with Max and Red Bull.
“If you take Max out of it and take everyone who’s finished second this year and give them a win, it would be a pretty competitive, exciting championship.
“We’ve had a second, Aston’s had a second, Ferrari’s had a second, Mercedes has had a second, Sergio’s had a second. You would have five teams that would have won a race this year.
“As soon as we all catch up to Red Bull I think that’s going to be the state of play for Formula 1.”
READ: Sebastian Vettel reveals how his children convinced him to quit F1
Verstappen has been in a complete league of his own, to the extent that he’s won eight consecutive races.
The Dutchman would match Sebastian Vettel’s record for nine wins in a row should he be victorious next weekend at his home race, the Dutch Grand Prix.
Unsurprisingly, Verstappen is the favourite to win at Zandvoort.