Former Haas team boss Guenther Steiner has admitted that he did not believe Red Bull Racing would keep Sergio Perez after the 2024 summer break. However, he does not believe Perez can deliver the necessary performance.
In addition, Steiner said the Mexican Formula 1 driver is “obviously in a situation he cannot get out of,” similar to Daniel Ricciardo.
Guenther Steiner: Sergio Perez in a “situation he can’t get out of”
In an interview with RacingNews365Guenther Steiner openly expressed his thoughts on Sergio Perez – including his dismay at Red Bull’s announcement that the Mexican racing driver would stay with the team after the summer break.
“I said live on German television: ‘I don’t think we will see Checo after the summer break,'” Steiner said.
“But I think 90 percent of the people in Formula 1 have said that, if not more than 90 percent, because his performance is simply not good.
“All the messages we got from Christian Horner and Helmut Marko in Belgium over the weekend were along the lines of: ‘We need to make some changes’, and that’s how I took it.
“I did not come up with it because I cannot judge whether Checo should stay there or not and I have no say in that decision.
“But the message was, ‘Yes, there will be some changes.’ I was as surprised as you were when I read that.
“Nothing against Checo, but he just didn’t perform,” Steiner continued.
When Perez’s season took a downturn from the Monaco Grand Prix onwards, many pundits assumed that Red Bull would drop the driver. Eventually, it became clear that Perez’s contract contained performance clauses that would have allowed Red Bull to drop him after the Belgian Grand Prix.
Although Perez finished seventh in Belgium, it was not enough to meet the performance clauses. Nevertheless, Perez remains.
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Steiner also compared Perez’s situation to that of Daniel Ricciardo during his time at McLaren. The Australian driver was in a great team, but he just didn’t seem to understand how to make his car work for him.
“(Perez) is clearly in a situation he can’t get out of, a bit like Daniel,” Steiner claimed.
“I didn’t expect him to be here by the end of the year. But I’m sure they know what they’re doing.”
Nevertheless, Steiner remains confident in Perez’s driving skills and even admitted that he had considered signing the Mexican racing driver for the Haas team.
Although Red Bull has confirmed that it will keep Perez, there is still reason to believe that the rest of 2024 will be an uphill battle for Checo.
Read more: Guenther Steiner’s Haas theory refuted after F1 funding questioned
