Sergio Perez gives an emphatic 'I knew this was gonna happen' response when questioned about Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda's struggles

Sergio Perez has made it clear that he knew what was going to happen when Yuki Tsunoda and Liam Lawson would get teamed up with Max Verstappen at Red Bull, and the situation doesn't surprise him. The Mexican was unceremoniously dropped from the Austrian team at the end of last season, with performance being the criterion, where he could not meet the standards.

Unfortunately, when it comes to Red Bull's second drivers, there's more than what meets the eye. The team is completely oriented around Max Verstappen, and the job for the second driver becomes tricky. It gets even worse, however, when we take into account that the cars can only be driven by one driver on the grid, which is the 4x F1 champion.

Other than him, everyone else has continued to struggle in the car, and as a result, we're looking at a situation where Sergio Perez was replaced by Liam Lawson at Red Bull, and the Kiwi couldn't last for more than 2 races. He was replaced by Yuki Tsunoda, and the situation has not changed.

Talking to the media, including The Race, the Mexican was questioned if the struggles of his replacements came as a surprise to him, to which he felt that this was more in line with his expectations. He said,

“I wasn't surprised. I knew that this was going to happen. I knew the problems there were in terms of constantly adapting. You just have to look at how the years started [when he was at Red Bull]. They started out competitive, but then the upgrades came and everything went away."

He added,

"I knew that it's a very difficult car to drive and you're constantly adapting to Max's driving style, essentially. That's what makes that car so special, that all the time instead of evolving, you're adapting. Then there's a variable like the wind, the rain, and it’s out of control. So, I knew this was going to happen, and, well, you can see the results.”

Max Verstappen doesn't think Sergio Perez's late Red Bull form is a detriment for him

When Sergio Perez was ultimately removed from Red Bull, one of the things that was used as a reason to get rid of him was the fact that the driver was just not scoring points. Max Verstappen, however, has backed the Mexican to thrive and have fun as he returns to the sport. He said,

“It's a fresh start now. Also from his side, one half, or a season, doesn't define what you can do. He's also quite easy in that. Some people maybe dwell on it a bit more, I think for Checo, it's a new start, you're excited, completely new cars also."

He added,

“He had shown a lot of great things even before he got to Red Bull, during the Red Bull time. So he just needs to go in there and enjoy it again and have a good time.”

Sergio Perez would be teamed up with Valtteri Bottas at Cadillac next season as the American brand takes baby steps on its journey in F1.