The good performance of Sergio “Checo” Pérez with his second place in the Bahrain Grand Prix was overshadowed by teammate Max Verstappen’s victory. However, within the Red Bull team they recognize the performance that the Mexican driver had.
And very much in his style, Helmut Marko He also left a message of recognition for the man from Guadalajara after a great race in which he managed to come back from fifth place to end up escorting the current F1 world champion, who gained an advantage of just over 20 seconds.
“Let’s not forget that he was stuck behind Mercedes and Ferrari for a while, but once he got clean air he put in competitive times. And yes, he has Max (Verstappen) as a teammate so not being destroyed by him is already a great achievement.”Marko assured in statements to Motorsport.
The advisor to the Austrian team has been one of the main critics of Sergio “Checo” Pérez who did not stop receiving questions from the former F1 driver during the last campaign, especially during the second half even though he ended up achieving runner-up status for Red Bull.
But now in 2024 things seem to be a little different, although Helmut Marko ended up recognizing in a quite particular way the good performance achieved by the Mexican driver at the beginning of the season with his second place in Bahrain.
“It was a very good race for him”added the Austrian about the performance of “Checo” Pérez who started the season on the right foot and is now aiming for the Saudi Arabia Grand Prix next weekend, a test that brings back good memories for having conquered it in 2023.
Helmut Marko also spoke about the possibility of the Mexican reaching a contract renewal with Red Bull for 2025, despite the fact that he is still just starting this campaign. It must be remembered that “Checo” Pérez ends his current contract at the end of this season.
“There are no established criteria (for its renewal). “He has to do enough to earn that seat and days like today is exactly what he has to do.”recognized the advisor of the Austrian team in reference to the possibilities of the pilot from Guadalajara.
It is no secret to anyone that Marko has been one of the main detractors of “Checo” Pérez, who since last season there was already talk of a possible departure from Red Bull amid the poor results he had been achieving. The Austrian even assured that the best thing for the Mexican was not to have Max Verstappen as a teammate, so he should look for another team.
Keep reading:
– Christian Horner, director of Red Bull, was satisfied with the performance of “Checo” Pérez in the Bahrain GP: “He has to continue performing that way”
– Lando Norris, from the McLaren team, admits the superiority of Max Verstappen and Sergio “Checo” Pérez for this 2024: “We are far from Red Bull”
– Fernando Alonso defeated Max Verstappen… In a paddle tennis match. Could the same thing happen during the 2024 Formula 1 season?