P1 with Matt and Tommy - Our reaction to Sergio Perez STAYING at Red Bull!

Episode Date: July 30, 2024

They’ve had the crunch talks and it’s now been confirmed that Sergio Perez will stay at Red Bull for the rest of the season. We wonder why the team have decided to keep faith with him and if Perez can turn it around after the summer break. P1 Live is heading to North America this Fall and tickets are now on sale! Click here to get your tickets, which are already close to selling out!Sign up to our Patreon here! You'll get access to bonus episodes, our classic race series, every P1 episode ad-free and access to our Discord server where you can chat with other F1 fans!Follow us on socials! You can find us on Twitter, Instagram, Twitch, YouTube and TikTok. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hello everybody and welcome back to the P1 podcast, emergency edition again. So many emergencies and it's only Tuesday of the summer break. Can we relax Formula One but also don't because it gives us things to talk about. But yes, this time, and it actually happened yesterday, but we'd already done an emergency podcast and also had to have our post-race content go out as well. So we were literally thinking, how do we do this? I did say at the end of the podcast, you should have just stayed in the chair. You actually are so true.

So clearly, I won't move from here on in and neither can you, Tommy, for the rest of the summer break. But yes, we're back, Tommy. We're going to talk about Sergio Perez because Red Bull have committed to him until the end of the season. They have indeed. I'd love to be smug and say that I said it on the race podcast, which I did. but I can't even be smug about it because I didn't exactly say it with my chest I was just like, I think they will because of vibes

and I couldn't actually justify any good reason why they would but they have. And here we are for another emergency pod already. And here we are to talk about Perez at Red Bull. Again. But hey, Red Bull have actually confirmed it. Christian Horner and Helmut Marco informed the team internally that Perez will remain in the seat after the summer break.

Now, that's no surprise, I think as well that they would do it internally because because he does have a contract. Yeah, there's nothing to announce, is there? Yeah, exactly. So obviously they've drip fed that to the media so that they can do their little thing. You know, we can do our thing and talk about it. But they're not going to go, Red Bull have decided because there's literally no point to it. And if anything, that's a PR blunder if they did actually announce it because all it would create is loads of people going, why? Why would you do that?

He's not performing. Blah, blah, blah, blah. So they've decided against that. Our first thoughts, I mean, you've told me, you've said, you predicted it, but didn't say it with your chest because didn't have many reasons for Perez staying. For me, I'm a bit surprised. But it also shows that everything that we ever read into Formula One and who talks to who after sessions and who's smiling with who and who's smiling with who and who has a bottle of wine in their hand and leaving the spa paddock with someone else, Vestappen and Ricardo. means absolutely nothing. And as much as we try and jump on these things and go,

ooh, is that a little, does that mean? Apparently not, because Red Bull have committed. Even though Helmut Marco seemed very blunt after SPAR, very disappointed in Perez's performance from the front row of the grid to 8th, which of course went to 7th after the qualification. But then there's clearly been some talks and Rebel have decided to keep Paris. They sure have, yeah. You can't just look at.

a picture of Christian Horner talking to Daniel Ricardo in the paddock because they probably chat regularly they are they know each other well uh of course the uh v carb drivers are contracted red ball racing drivers so Horner is their manager if you like uh of that of that situation so yeah there's a lot of rumors and things about all this just shows that it's going to happen but they have stuck with him despite everything but one thing I thought was interesting was that you know I know it wasn't red bull themselves but Formula One put up like the interview with Perez in the media pen and it was kind of like it's time to shut down these allegations and all this kind of stuff of like like I'm staying I've got a contract and it's like that's the kind of interview and and statement you kind of

do when you finish third and you silence all the critics with your driving. Not when you have an absolutely abysmal race and go, well, I've got a contract. You know, it's not the mic drop moment, is it really when you've just had a really, really poor race again? Exactly. Let's go to the first question from P1 Patreon member Freya. How long do you realistically think Perez needs to continue performing badly until he gets the boot? Half year ago. Now, well, clearly not because Red Bull are still staying with Perez. I think it's end of the year.

Then he gets the boot now. Clearly, Red Bull do not want to break contracts, although there have obviously been a lot of talk about performance clauses and 100 points behind Max and yada, yada, yada, yada, yada. Red Bull either have that and don't want to act on it, or they don't and they can't afford the massive, I'm sure they can afford it. It's Red Bull, but also they don't want to afford the loss of booting Perez out. He can't perform much worse, sadly. He can't. Unless he's literally fighting

with Formula B every single weekend, finishing last of Formula A when you start on the front row of the grid, around Spa, which we were speaking about, very difficult to overtake. That was the perfect recipe for Perez to secure a little P3, a little P4 maybe, but he fell off the back of everyone. I know that he complained about the strategy, but people, there were loads of different strategies at play, and Perez still managed to fall behind. So it is bizarre. I put a tweet out saying, I wonder how Alex Albon and Pierre Gazley feel seeing how much Red Bull are committing. And a lot of people are saying, well, it's money, it's money, it's money. Well, my question was actually posing to how Alex and Pierre feel, not what's the reason why Perez,

sorry, Red Bull are keeping Perez. It's clearly sponsorship money. It's clearly that's that side of things because the performance is no better than what we saw with Albon and Gasly. And I think we've even compared it before, Tommy, where Perez is probably performing worse comparably. Yeah, he is. How bad does it need to get? I've seen a lot of things that maybe his season in a weird way is very similar to last year. You know, he had a great start, which feels like forever ago now. You can I kind of almost forgotten that he finished second in three of the first four, I believe it was.

And we're kind of like, oh, he's turned his form around, but that's exactly the same as what happened the year before. And then as soon as you get to the European races and beyond, his form just drops off a cliff. But the key thing here is that Max Astappen and Red Bull have nowhere near the advantage they did last year. So, and it's funny, you mentioned Ghazli and Albin, and their problem was that Vestappen was in the second quickest car

behind the Merck's probably, or at least elevating Red Bull to that position. And he was finishing third in the Hamburg Ver every week and doing a fantastic job, and his teammate was finishing 20 seconds behind him, or 30, 40 seconds. and back then that was the difference between third and eighth, ninth, tenth, eleventh, twelfth, whatever. In 2021 and back when Red Bull, and then as they got more dominant in 22 and 23, that was still a second or a third place when he finished 20 seconds behind him,

whereas now he is finishing, you know, he's getting knocked out in Q1 a lot, always finishing last of Formula A, and that's on a good day. I've got probably the most damning stat of all of them, where someone has done the driver's standings from the last eight races, which is arguably when Red Bull maybe have not had the advantage. And credit to Vastappen, he is still leading this championship in the eight races on 141. Piaastri is second on 126 and seventh is Russell on 79. I'll just skim through it. Perez is on 28 points. So Max on 141, Perez on 28. You know, in eight races, I was doing a bit of mental arithmetic. Do you not remember in the last podcast and I said it was

about 25, 26 or something like that? But 28, I was wrong. 28. He scored a couple more points than I he proved you wrong. That's why he's kept. to see. But he, yeah, and to put it into perspective, Holcomburg has scored 16. So he has scored 12 more points than a Hass in eight races in a Red Bull when, when the other driver is getting 141 and extending his championship lead almost every week. And I know Verstappen is next level, but it can't be this bad. It can't get much worse.

I think that's what you've highlighted here. and we've gone into the summer break and Red Bull are clearly like, for whatever reason, we don't know exactly what this is and that's why we're discussing it. They're sticking with him. So let's go to the next question. P1 Patreon member Kean L.R. How many hats can one man truly be selling?

So I don't know the exact merch figures of Sergio Perez, but what I can say is that Red Bull are clearly willing to lose. third in the constructors. So, last year, Red Bull was awarded $140 million, according to this report. Mercedes 131 in second place. And then Ferrari, which has actually been highlighted, Ferrari 122, McLaren 113. So if you do the maths, there's an 18 million difference between Redbourne and Ferrari.

So Sergio Perez is selling $19 million plus of hats and merch in order to keep his seat. What I'd say to that, maybe fairly or unfairly, is that maybe Red Bull, obviously Red Bull would like to win the Constructors Championship, but I think what we saw in 2021 in particular and how that went down is that that is less excitable. And for a brand like Red Bull, when they are there, let's be honest, for marketing their energy drink mostly. the driver's championship and max winning that is the big the big thing and while that is prize money

red ball aren't short of a bob or two um so they're not going to cry themselves to sleep if they lose it it's obviously it's disappointing for all the team members but i'm trying to think of like uh the higher ups uh and one one thing that while you um you know while i sort of mentioned it and it did get sort of like, it can't be that. But with Sergio Perez and his sponsors, and it isn't just the Mexican Grand Prix, but it's the sponsors. And you think how many sponsors Sergio Perez brings,

he brings so much backing from a lot of these sponsors. And you must think, you know, while he's doing incredibly badly, teams have to think about, you know, the sponsorship that they're getting and all these investors and everything that they've got to keep happy. And if Sergio Perez got ousted before the Mexican Grand Prix and there's all these sponsorship, you know, deals that happen.

And Sergio isn't there at the Mexican Grand Prix representing Red Bull. It could be a disaster. And, you know, we've had the same conversation with Daniel Ricardo and how that he was, he seems financially, you mean? Financially, yeah. Because, I mean, Perez did a dive. on at Mexico last year and that was a disaster as well. Yeah.

But hey, they got to see him lead for a bit until his car flew off. But we've had the same conversation to a point with Daniel Ricardo and Yuki Sonoda, where Yuki Sonoda has been a better driver this year and done a really good job. But it's not always the driving performance that keeps you. Now, this is a very, very, very, very extreme example of it, of course, because, you know, you can't heart these these stats don't lie and you look at him where he is in the championship compared to his teammate but there are so many other factors than just looking at his points position and that that is probably why the midseason is such a big thing to do they've done it in the past but maybe it's not been as extreme to get rid of a young driver that they've given an opportunity and switch with another young driver but Perez We all know. And we know full well because if he's anything bad about him,

he's got a big legion of fans. And that is, you know, this is what it is that there are so many politics as well in Formula One. It is not just flat out results. Otherwise, you know, many, many things. I was just going to go on and on and on. Because I thought of another example of, like, Hamilton, basically, like, ousting science out. and we've said, you know, science didn't deserve to leave his seat, but he did because our world champion comes knocking.

Science hasn't scored 28 points in the last eight races, though. I'll tell you that for free. But that's what I mean. It shows that it's not always just numbers. There are so many more factors than just looking at a sheet of paper and going, you're not doing very well. Goodbye. I'd be interested to see what Red Bull would have done this year,

had Perez not had that good runner form at the start, because, of course, you know, those first four, five races have propped his tally up massively. And I do wonder if his form sort of kicked off like it has been for most of this season from the start, whether they would have made... And let's remember he didn't have a contract until those first few races.

And then they signed him again, even though he was on a bad runner form, but they extended the two-year contract when he was in, admittedly, still a bad runner form, but no way, like, it's just going down and down and down and worse, isn't it? Next question. P1, patron memorand,

But Art Ludens, will he stay at Red Bull until his contract expires? If yes, why? Well, technically his Red Bull contract will expire at the end of the year and then it's a plus one option. Of course, Red Bull went for this sort of PR strategy of two years, but then Horner let it slip that it was a one plus one. Because I guess if you say to the media two years, it's a bit a boost of confidence for Perez. It's right, we're backing you and hopefully that garner's better results. It didn't. So now it's one plus one. So my understanding now is that, yeah, Perez will be there to the end of the year and Red Bull are trying desperately to figure out what to do next. Because they can't, they can't keep going with this. If that, if, if, if Perez shows no sign of

life between now and the end of the season, they surely can't extend him into next year. Surely. No, I don't think they, I think that, I don't think they will if his form continues. And In a strange way, I think this could actually end up being the right decision because my argument for, you know, the podcast situation was that I couldn't see Sergio Perez being basically demoted to V-Cab. And equally with Daniel Ricardo going in and Sergio Perez going down, it still doesn't solve that Liam Lerner. and driver problem that they've had. And for me, other than the fact that Daniel Ricardo may well do better,

we don't know. There's no, there's no proof like yes, yes, he did well with Max back in the day, but there's no argument to say I'll do that again. But I don't think that, I don't think that Perez going down to V-carb solves anything. So you give him until the end of the year.

If he doesn't improve, maybe he's gone gone. Like, I don't, I think if his form is as bad as it is now, he's gone completely. And I don't think he wants to, I don't, maybe look to try and find a seat somewhere else. But I think he will be gone from Red Bull completely rather than taking a step down. And then that solves the problem where Daniel Ricardo can go up. Liam Lawson goes into V-Cab and then you get that comparison that they want between Lawson and Sonoda

for a full year or half year or whatever it is. and then they can decide what they do next. Indeed. Well, a fascinating topic, which has been done to death, but there's more news and that's why we're here.

Exactly. Yeah, look, I hope for Perez's sake he picks the form up. It's just a want and a desire from both myself and Tommy just to have another car

mixing it with the front. It's sad to see a driver that was so highly rated going in to this team, perform for the majority pretty poorly. And if he does lose the seat at Red Ball, I would be fascinated to see if he does go back to a midfield team and then starts performing again, because I'm sure he hasn't just lost his capabilities in a car and we've seen it in the past. So Tommy, what are your final thoughts? Just, yeah, my final thoughts will add to what you just said. And if he does do that, we'll be having exactly the same conversation again as Gasly and

Albin and how they got back and showed that they could do something. Oh, and is it the curse of the second seat alongside Max? Why can no one go in there and do a good job? We'll have to wait and see. But I will echo what you say. And despite what some people think, I don't want Paris to do badly. He's a highly rated driver. I was so so happy when he was delivering and racing point.

and me and you were both very sort of supportive of him getting that Red Bull seat in the first place. And we said what an absolute travesty it would be if Sergio Perez would lose his Formula One seat after essentially he had that amazing season at racing point. He won a race when he was last at one point. It was one of the best victories we've seen in ages. And it's because we want him to do well. And it's annoying because you want more people at the front and you want Max to be challenged and you want a better show. championship. So here's hoping that Peres can deliver in the second half of the season after just a break. Absolutely. And I'm actually happy to now just not talk about this anymore, to be

honest with you. So that'll be good. Thank you everybody. Let us know your thoughts. And we'll see you very soon. Lots of love. Bye. We'll just skip over Peras in the drive rings, yeah. P1 is a stack production and part of the ACAST creator network.