'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
F1 pundit Mark Gallagher stated that he felt sorry for Red Bull driver Sergio Perez due to the pressure put on him by his team and the F1 community in general.
Perez has not had a good last 12 months in the sport. The driver started the 2023 season well and won the races in Saudi Arabia and Azerbaijan. It was at that point however that the tables turned. The Mexican would not win or contest for another win all season, while his teammate would win all but 1 of the remaining 18 races. The bout of underperformance also placed the 34-year-old's seat in danger with Daniel Ricciardo being placed at the AlphaTauri to asses what he could do in the sister car.
According to Mark Gallagher, there is no way Sergio Perez can beat Max Verstappen in the same machinery. The journalist stated that the added pressure of being told that he was in a position to win a World Championship made the Mexican's situation even more disheartening.. Talking on the Flat Chat podcast, he said:
“I feel so sorry for Sergio Perez for one reason, and that is that he and people around him, and from time to time, the way that perhaps Christian [Horner] needs to talk about him, they insinuate that he may have an opportunity to win the World Championship. He doesn’t. He doesn’t have the opportunity to win the World Championship, unless Max was injured, God forbid, and missed most of the season."
He added:
“Max has the beating of Sergio. The truth is in the data. You talk to anybody at Red Bull, they will tell you, ‘We know who’s the quicker driver by some margin’, it’s there for all of us to see. It’s kind of unarguable. And therefore the pity of it is when Sergio is sitting in a press conference and someone is saying: ‘So Checo, tell us about your championship chances this year’, and of course, he’s going to talk it up, because it’s very difficult to think about what the alternative narrative could be.
Comparison drawn between Sergio Perez and Gerhard Berger
Mark Gallagher drew comparisons between Sergio Perez and former driver Gerhard Berger, with both drivers having been in a somewhat similar predicament. Berger was teamed up with Ayrton Senna at McLaren, a driver who was a once-in-a-generation talent. Gallagher recalled that Berger once told him that he had to look at the payout he got from the team to find solace in the fact that he could not beat Senna. He said:
“I remember talking to Gerhard Berger about being team-mate to Ayrton [Senna] and Gerhard saying: ‘You get to a point where you realise you’re just not going to be there, and you have a different role. Your role is to do the best job you can for the team, to win the race when it comes your way and otherwise, hopefully finish second and have a one-two finish’."
Sergio Perez is now in a very precarious position going into the 2024 season, where he must prove how good he can be in the car in order to secure his position at Red Bull. Only time will tell how the scenario will play out.
