Sergio Perez remains under scrutiny, with Jenson Button now being the first expert to state that Red Bull should dismiss the Mexican driver if he fails to perform well in the upcoming race in Hungary.
Button, speaking to Sky, pointed out that Perez’s current form is a “significant problem” for Red Bull, describing the recent race in Silverstone as another “terrible weekend” for Perez, who also had some “bad luck in certain respects.”
However, Button emphasized that Perez needs to improve. “Perez must at least score some points, even if he doesn’t finish right behind Max [Verstappen],” demanded the 2009 world champion.
“They can’t let this continue indefinitely. If he doesn’t score points in the next race, they will soon have to take him out of the car and put another driver in,” Button warned.
Button acknowledged the difficulty of the situation, saying, “It’s not a good feeling for a driver. It’s tough. It’s awful for a driver,” but he reminded that “the constructors’ championship is crucial” for Red Bull.
So far, Verstappen has contributed 255 of the team’s 373 points, while Perez has only managed 118, not even half of his teammate’s total.
Former Teammates
As a reminder, Button and Perez were teammates at McLaren for one season in 2013. Perez was brought in to replace Lewis Hamilton but had a rather unremarkable season.
During that difficult year for McLaren, Button scored only 73 points, and Perez managed just 49, leaving the team after just one season.
Interestingly, the 2013 season is the only one in McLaren-Mercedes history where the team failed to secure a single podium finish.
McLaren raced with Mercedes engines in Formula 1 from 1995 to 2014 and then again since 2021. All this information can be found in our extensive database.
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