Four races into the 2023 Formula 1 season, Sergio Perez had won half the year's events and looked poised for a Nico Rosberg-like challenge to dominant teammate Max Verstappen in the championship hunt. In the two months since, Perez has seen the championship get away from him entirely. Worse, today's results at Silverstone mean that he has not made the final round of qualifying in five races.
The struggles started at Miami, where Perez qualified on pole and, thanks to Verstappen qualifying a distant ninth, looked set to grab yet another win. Verstappen instead moved through the field with relative ease, catching and passing his own teammate to take the win and grow his title lead.
Verstappen has taken each pole and won each race since. Perez, meanwhile, crashed out of the first round of qualifying in Monaco, got eliminated in Q2 three races in a row, and, today, failed to advance from the first round of qualifying after a poorly-timed red flag. That means he starts tomorrow's British Grand Prix from 16th, all in a car so fast that Verstappen has not been meaningfully challenged for a race win by anyone but Perez all season.
That is a disappointing number, part of a disappointing season that has seen Perez spend half the year trying to make up for his own mistakes on Saturdays. He has just one podium in his past four races, even after recovering to the top six in three of those events. Tomorrow's uphill climb looks no more promising, with both McLaren and Ferrari working to lock out positions two through five a race weekend that seems to suit their cars well.
All of those results are starting to pile up and paint a relatively unfavorable picture for Perez, who has been Verstappen's teammate in both of his completed championship seasons. Red Bull has no real competition this year, but they expect that to change every offseason. If the program comes under threat from Mercedes, Ferrari, or another team again in 2024, what Perez has done in the second quarter of this season would be enough to cost them the manufacturer's championship.
The team may need to start looking at other ideas, like promoting reserve driver Daniel Ricciardo from a potential return to their junior team to an unexpected reunion with their top program. Another rumor has the team attempting something even more adventurous, poaching IndyCar star Alex Palou for Alpha Tauri after IndyCar ends this season and promoting him to the senior team the next.
Perez can make both ideas, and any other potential replacement suggestion, moot by racing for poles, wins, and podiums in the third quarter of the season. If he does not turn this ship around by the end of the Summer, he may be out of time to defend his seat.
