Breaking news

Formula 1

Perez's Mercedes knowledge a factor in Red Bull signing him

Red Bull says Sergio Perez's vast experience of the Mercedes Formula 1 engine was an important factor in it electing to sign the Mexican for next year.

Jonathan Noble Christian Nimmervoll

Edited: Dec 29, 2020, 2:12 PM

Copy link

Share on Viber

Add as a preferred source

Sergio Perez, Racing Point RP20, Alex Albon, Red Bull Racing RB16

Perez is to replace Alex Albon at Red Bull after the Milton Keynes-based outfit felt that his performances in the second half of 2020 were 'impossible' to ignore.

Speaking exclusively to Motorsport.com about the reasons why Perez became the preferred choice, Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko explained that it was not all down to the former Racing Point driver's speed.

"The first thing that spoke was the unbelievable form curve to which he has risen," said Marko. "I think this has certainly been his best season ever since he's been in Formula 1. That's one thing.

"The other is: in the race he won, [George] Russell didn't get significantly closer in the Mercedes despite having better tyres.

"To be able to judge that pace, to drive just fast enough to keep the opponent in check without overloading the tyres, he [Perez] has proved that very well in a couple of races. He also had bad luck a few times, for example when he retired in third place in Bahrain.

"And then there is the fact that he has driven many seasons with the Mercedes engine and knows about it driveability and responsiveness. All these things spoke for him.

"[Nico] Hulkenberg was last with Renault. You probably can't use the three races he drove with the Mercedes engine, because he was more busy adjusting to the car than collecting data."

Read Also:

Marko said Red Bull felt that it needed to head in to 2021 with a stronger driver line-up to stave off the growing threats of teams like McLaren and Renault, but also to help disrupt Mercedes more.

"You have to assume that McLaren will make a step forward with the Mercedes engine, and that Renault and Ferrari will probably come on as well," he said.

"If you're five tenths behind in qualifying, you're not fourth, you're seventh or eighth. And that makes you worthless for the team in the sense that you can't be used for strategic games.

"In Abu Dhabi, Mercedes couldn't do anything [strategy wise], or only with a lot of risk. [Valtteri] Bottas would have been the one to put on soft tyres, but he would have fallen behind Albon and overtaking on the Abu Dhabi circuit is notoriously difficult.

"Because Albon drove a very good race and was very close to the Mercedes, they couldn't play their usual strategy. We want to be world champions again next year. So we need a strong pairing with whom we can pull out all the stops in terms of strategy as well."

Red Bull says it is not expecting Perez to come in to the team and regularly beat Verstappen, but it does want him to be within range of the Dutchman.

"Perez has to be within striking distance of Max in race trim," added Marko. "We'll see in qualifying, as nobody has managed to reach his level yet.

"It may be a maximum of two tenths, something in the region - maybe even less. We need a strength as a team that we can fight against Mercedes with two drivers.

"I expect that we will be Mercedes' opponents again. If Bottas doesn't have such a bad day as in Bahrain, he fulfils his role very well. We expect the same from Perez."

We want your opinion!

What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?

Take our 5 minute survey.

- The Motorsport.com Team

Read and post comments

Share Or Save This Story

Copy link

Share on Viber

Previous article Fast-tracking upgrades key to McLaren F1 progress - Seidl

Next article F1 needs to become more driver dependent in 2022 - Sainz

Top Comments

There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?

View More & Comment

Latest news

The surprising convergence behind F1's increasingly competitive 2026 season

Formula 1

The surprising convergence behind F1's increasingly competitive 2026 season

“I was getting beat up” – How Daniel Ricciardo burned out on ‘humiliating’ F1 return

Formula 1

F1 Formula 1 44 min

“I was getting beat up” – How Daniel Ricciardo burned out on ‘humiliating’ F1 return

Myers Riley Motorsports adds Andretti alongside returning Fraga for 2027 IMSA GTD campaign

IMSA

IMSA IMSA 1 h

Myers Riley Motorsports adds Andretti alongside returning Fraga for 2027 IMSA GTD campaign

Las Vegas GP reveals neon sign-inspired trophy design

Formula 1

F1 Formula 1

Las Vegas GP

1 h

Las Vegas GP reveals neon sign-inspired trophy design

Feature

Discover prime content

Tough love and F1 titles – A key life lesson behind Wolff's Mercedes success

Formula 1

Sao Paulo GP

By Ronald Vording

Tough love and F1 titles – A key life lesson behind Wolff's Mercedes success

How Brazil showcased everything that's good about F1 - plus some that isn't

Formula 1

Sao Paulo GP

By Filip Cleeren

How Brazil showcased everything that's good about F1 - plus some that isn't

Top 10 F1 cars of the 1970s

Formula 1

By Kevin Turner

Top 10 F1 cars of the 1970s

Why Rafael Camara should take heart from a tough F1 debut in Brazil

Formula 1

Sao Paulo GP

By Jake Boxall-Legge

Why Rafael Camara should take heart from a tough F1 debut in Brazil

Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.

From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.

You have 2 options:

Become a subscriber.
Disable your adblocker.

Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here

Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page

Manage Alerts