In recent seasons, Gasley, Alpen and now Perez have all spent some time getting used to Red Bull racing. But after Mercedes beat Red Bull through strategy at the Spanish Grand Prix, Red Bull manager Christian Horner said the team desperately needed Perez to catch up with Verstappen in the next race to provide the team with a richer strategic choice.
Perez won a race at the race point last year, but as a Red Bull driver he has yet to finish on the podium this season and his best result so far is just fourth in the Portuguese Grand Prix.
At the Spanish Grand Prix, Perez's shoulder problems took him only eighth in qualifying and trailed to fifth in the ensuing regular race, but teammate Verstappen, who used the same strategy, was a full 48 seconds ahead of him. Hamilton's team-mate Bottas was still able to sit high in the top spot between Hamilton and Verstappen in the main game, limiting Verstappen's strategic options, and Horner said Red Bull wanted Perez to play the same role.
Horner said after the Spanish Grand Prix: "Perez was not in good shape yesterday, trailing Ricciardo in the race, but then he failed to improve his ranking on a difficult-to-overtake track. ”
"We desperately need Perez to catch up with Verstappen so Mercedes don't have that strategic choice. But I believe that as he spends more and more time in this RB16B car, he will be able to find his feelings and confidence.
After the Spanish Grand Prix, many compared it to the 2019 Hungarian Grand Prix. That was also Gasley's last game at Red Bull as a Verstappen teammate, and the two games had a similar plot, Hamilton fell behind and chose two stops, Verstappen, who lacked the help of his teammates, could not resist Hamilton's new tyre advantage, and Hamilton eventually won the game.
Horner believes that the 2019 Hungarian Grand Prix repeat is precisely why Perez needs to catch up with Verstappen's speed: "The situation was quite clear at the time, and it was clear that Hamilton and Verstappen were far ahead of the other drivers, which gave Hamilton a chance to pitt, just like in Hungary. Hamilton only needs to overtake his team-mates after leaving, and that's not a problem for him. That's why we need two cars with top speed in strategy so mercedes don't have the same strategy options. ”
Meanwhile, Perez said he felt better with the car after the Spanish Grand Prix, believing that the upcoming Monaco Grand Prix could take a head on the victory and let's look forward to the fifth leg of the Red Bull Mercedes next week.