Red Bull worried about the potential $7000000 loss that Sergio Perez could cause with his lack of performance
Red Bull adviser Helmut Marko has admitted that the team is worried about a potential $7Mn loss the team would suffer if Sergio Perez's lack of performance slips the team to P3 in the championship. The 2024 F1 season has seen plenty of twists and turns, but not many would have expected the Austrian team to not win the title.
The season began in a dominant fashion, with Max Verstappen winning the first couple of races and Sergio Perez coming home in second. It appeared that the season would go in the same trajectory as 2023, where Red Bull dominated the field and lost only one race. That hasn't been the case, too, as the trajectory of their season changed when McLaren introduced their major upgrade.
The upgrade introduced in Miami helped McLaren close the gap to Red Bull, and at the same time, the Austrian team encountered issues with the car development. Since then, Red Bull's trajectory has been negative while the competition has surged.
Through this drop, Verstappen has still continued to contribute in terms of points and holds a healthy lead in the championship. Sergio Perez, meanwhile, has been a disappointment. His drop in form has contributed to the team losing out in the standings to McLaren.
The drop in form has been such that Red Bull are in danger of losing P2 to Ferrari. Talking about that, Helmut Marko also expressed concern over the team facing a monetary loss of $7 million if it drops to P3. As quoted by Racingnews365, he said:
"He (Perez) will have to get significantly closer to Max (Verstappen), so that we don't lose second place in the world championship. We definitely want to avoid dropping to third (in the constructors' standings), because there is also a difference of about seven million dollars. You definitely feel that in the budget."
Red Bull hoping intense competition papers over Sergio Perez's performance
Red Bull's Helmut Marko was hopeful that there are four different teams that could fight for a win every weekend is something that might help them avoid a drop to P3 in the championship.
The one thing that has helped the Austrian team and especially Max Verstappen this season is the fact that the pecking order continues to change every weekend.
Helmut Marko feels it's probably one thing that might help Red Bull from losing further ground even if Perez's performances don't improve. He said:
"At the moment, four different teams can win (a race). That makes it unlikely that one driver will win all the race. But we can't afford to fail, so it remains exciting."
The last time Red Bull finished below P2 in the championship was six years ago in 2018. At the time, Sergio Perez wasn't even a part of the team, as he was driving for Racing Point.