Sergio Perez’s father has jumped to his son’s defence and insisted that Red Bull built the RB19 for Max Verstappen, not Checo, following a miserable Japanese Grand Prix last weekend.
Perez delivered one of his worst Red Bull performances at Suzuka last weekend, where he retired from the race twice.
His race was ruined on the opening lap following a collision with Carlos Sainz and Lewis Hamilton on the run into Turn 1, breaking his front wing.
Perez pitted for repairs but was slapped with a five-second time penalty, as he overtook Fernando Alonso on the way into the pits despite a Safety Car having been released.
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From then on it went from bad to worse for the Red Bull driver, as he received a second five-second time penalty just a few laps later after crashing into the side of Kevin Magnussen, in a reckless attempt to get past the Danish driver.
Perez pitted for another front wing as a result, before retiring soon after.
However, the Mexican rejoined the race late on to serve his second time penalty, to avoid it being carried over into the Qatar Grand Prix.
He retired again after serving the second penalty.
It marked a shocking weekend for Perez where he appeared to lack confidence, with his father insisting that the driver is being forced to “adapt” his driving style because it’s been designed for Verstappen.
“Checo continues to struggle with the car in something that we have not detected,” Perez’s father told Mexican outlet ESTO.
“The car is set for Max. Max drives with all the grip in the front, and Checo has driven all his life and all the time he has driven with the grip in the back.
“So today Checo has to adapt to driving a car, and Max doesn’t.”
Verstappen actually won the race to claim Red Bull another Constructors’ Championship, something Perez watched happen from the garage.
Better performances are certainly expected from Checo given just how good the RB19 is, with his father admitting that Mexico “get angry” when he doesn’t finish first.
However, Perez’s father points out that this is because Mexico has become so proud of the Red Bull driver, who the 64-year-old believes was signed by the Austrians to finish behind Verstappen, rather than fight for the title.
“The position Checo Perez is in the drivers’ championship is the one for which he was hired: second place,” Perez’s father added.
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“There is only one place to be a champion. Checo has to work, he has to earn it. This whole thing was built for Max to be there.”
Perez’s father continued: “When Checo finished in tenth place, it was a source of pride for us that he won a point. Today, he ends in second place and we get angry, we want him to be first.
“The only thing I can tell you is that Mexico is going to have an F1 world champion and also, this weekend was the second time that Checo is F1 champion, in the constructors’ [championship].”