Max Verstappen dismissed concerns about his team mate’s recent form after a rival suggested it could jeopardise Red Bull’s bid for the constructors’ championship.
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Verstappen will start today’s race from fourth on the grid after Sergio Perez was knocked out in the first qualifying session. Both Red Bull drivers made errors at the high-speed Copse corner in Q1; Perez’s mistake proved costly when he became stranded in the gravel and could not continue.
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner was seen shaking his head after Perez’s incident, which left the Mexican on the 19th row. Perez has scored 15 points across the last five rounds, while McLaren have taken 28 points from Red Bull during that same period.
McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown believes Perez’s dip in form has created an opening for his team in the constructors’ standings. McLaren sit third, 87 points behind Red Bull.
“You’ve got to assume Max is going to be first, second or third at every race for the balance of the year – probably more firsts than thirds,” Brown told media including RaceFans. “Sergio underperforming is what’s opening the window for us. I think if we have the same points gain we’ve had the last six races over the balance of the year, we would get the job done.”
Brown added that Perez’s performances should be a concern for the team leadership. “I would be – which I’m sure they are – very concerned about the lack of performance. But I like Sergio, so I wouldn’t want to comment further on that.”
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Verstappen defended Perez’s weekend at Silverstone, saying the team mate looked competitive in the practice sessions and that qualifying was affected by bad luck.
“Of course you always want two cars there,” Verstappen said. “But honestly today I think that was just unlucky and unfortunate what happened because we didn’t really get to see his pace in qualifying.”
He added that Perez appeared to have a good feel for the car during FP2. “I find it always difficult to comment on today because yesterday when he jumped in the car in FP2 he looked decent. So it’s a bit unfair to say that this weekend he’s been off or whatever because I actually felt that in FP2 he felt good. Today with the conditions it’s tricky.”
Verstappen also stressed that race wins ultimately depend on individual performance rather than relying on a team mate. “At the end of the day, you always have to do it yourself,” he said after qualifying. “No one is going to help you win a race or whatever. You have to really go out from your own strength.”
He expressed disappointment at losing Perez early but remained optimistic for the race. “Of course it was super-unfortunate to lose Checo in Q1. From my side, tomorrow is a new day where, first of all you have to wait and see what the weather will do as well. But I’m confident that if we just have a clean car, let’s say it like that, then we can be in the mix. I’m not saying that we’re going to be the quickest, but at least when we’re in the mix, you know there’s always something possible.”
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Despite Red Bull extending Perez’s contract earlier this year, speculation continues that he could be replaced next season. After qualifying, Perez described his weekend as “very strong up to now” and said he is focused only on delivering for the team on race day, not on outside talk about his future.
“I have a contract and I am fully focused on my job, which is to deliver tomorrow,” he said. “I don’t have to think about anything else. The most concerned about [it] is myself. I want to get back to my form as well as possible and I’m just fully focussed on my form.”
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