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Alex Wurz believes Sergio Perez was right to question the team about their decision to swap him with Max Verstappen in the Spanish GP. The GPDA chairman also felt the Mexican was too accepting of the team orders.
Speaking on F1 Nation's podcast about Red Bull's situation in the Spanish GP, he said:
“He’s fully right to talk. I mean, he is a mega team player. To an extent, at some points, I thought he’s actually too easily accepting some of their orders. Because you need to be a bit edgy, you need to put your elbows out. He proved for the team he was fighting for the World Championship in Abu Dhabi for Max – [he was] mega.”
In last week's Spanish GP, the Mexican driver was on a two-stop strategy while the reigning world champion was on an aggressive three-stop strategy due to his DRS not functioning. Towards the end of the race, when Perez was leading Verstappen, he was told to let his teammate pass, since they were on different strategies. Perez called the team order "unfair," but ultimately let the Dutchman take the lead.
After the race, Sergio Perez told his race engineer the following:
“I am happy for the team, but we need to speak later.”
The GPDA chairman believes that the Red Bull driver's criticism is fair and that he should stick his elbows out once in a while instead of blindly following team orders. This, however, is tricky since Perez's contract is to end at the end of 2022.
Alex Wurz says it is good to see Sergio Perez play the team game
While the Guadalajara, Mexico native could have clinched a victory at the Spanish GP, Red Bull prioritised Verstappen to secure extra points while his championship rival Charles Leclerc was forced to retire from the race. Team principal Christian Horner explained that although the Mexican felt he could win, he was on a slower tire which compromised him and was a risk that the team could not afford to take.
Commenting on Sergio Perez’s performance, Alex Wurz said:
“Today, I felt it was right [for him] to raise his voice. He executed as the team asked him. He came out with new tyres, and he had to hold back when, actually, the race was critical for him and to use the new tyres, the new rubber, for fast lap times. At this point, he had to stay back, so this is when you get cranky as a driver. I’ve been in this situation and it’s not cool, but give him credit. He executed [it] but, rightly, he asks for his rights as well. It’s good to see at the end of the day. Nevertheless, he had to accept the second position behind Max.”
Wurz admires the team game played by Sergio Perez and credited him for handling the situation well. The GPDA chairman empathised with the Mexican and supported him for questioning the strategy during the race. The Red Bull driver said he was satisfied with the team's result despite not having had a fair shot at a win. The Spanish GP resulted in Red Bull and Max Verstappen taking the lead in the championship in their respective categories.
