While previously speaking positively about Liam Lawson stepping up to Red Bull to push Max Verstappen, now, Jos Verstappen says the team can bring Sergio Perez back to form with a more “neutral” car.
Perez finds himself coming under mounting pressure in regards to his future as a Red Bull driver, as he continues his bid to return to form having not featured on the podium since April’s Chinese Grand Prix. His slump has contributed to Red Bull facing a last chance saloon scenario this weekend in Qatar if they are to stay in the hunt to retain the Constructors’ title.
Jos Verstappen tells Red Bull to give Sergio Perez the machinery
Red Bull are P3 in the standings and 53 points behind leaders McLaren, with Red Bull knowing that a deficit of 45 points to the leading team after Qatar will rule them out of the race going into the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
The newly-crowned four-time World Champion Max Verstappen has done the bulk of Red Bull’s points scoring, providing 403 to Perez’s 152, and as Red Bull prepare to decide post-season whether Perez will continue into F1 2025, Max’s father Jos had advocated for VCARB’s Liam Lawson to get his chance at Red Bull next year.
“I think Lawson is doing very well,” Jos told Viaplay.
“It seems logical to me that he is ready to step up. Let him finish this season and build confidence and then the team has to decide what they do for next year.
“I certainly don’t oppose that [Lawson replacing Perez]. It’s better if there is someone who is competitive and pushes Max forward a bit. That always helps, but we’ll see.”
However, Jos is now advocating that Perez can be that team-mate to push Max.
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All Red Bull need to do, according to Jos, is produce a car that suits their drivers more equally and he believes Perez will be a front-running driver again.
Asked on Joe radio about Perez’s Red Bull future, Jos replied: “That is not down to us, of course. That’s really up to the team’s management.
“But I’m also sure if Red Bull builds a car that is neutral and that everyone can get on with, then I think Checo will be there at the front again.
“But we have little to do with that really.”
Perez has been a Red Bull driver since 2021, scoring five of his six F1 victories in that time.
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