Marko accuses Perez of ‘collapsing’ in final stint

Red Bull sporting advisor Dr Helmut Marko has given his opinion on Sergio Perez’s performance in yesterday’s Belgian Grand Prix, insisting the Mexican “collapsed” in his final stint.

Although Max Verstappen dominated the wet conditions in Saturday’s qualifying session, setting the benchmark ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, Red Bull endured a very difficult Belgian Grand Prix.

A ten-place grid demotion meant the Dutchman finished only 11th. While the reigning champion has managed to overcome similar grid penalties in the last two years to take dominant victories in 2022 and 2023, he appeared to struggle for pace yesterday and finished in P5.

Team-mate Sergio Perez started from second on the grid but lost control to Lewis Hamilton early on. Although the Mexican looked strong in the first stint, he lost control during the first round of pit stops and completely lost contact with the leaders due to his very early second tyre change.

Speaking about Perez’s performance in the 44-lap race at Spa, Dr Helmut Marko told Sky Germany: “Sergio had the opportunity to take a good result from second place. Unfortunately, that was not the case.

“Especially in the last stint, he completely collapsed, where he set lap times in the 1’48s. What seemed so positive in qualifying unfortunately did not materialise in the race.”

Although Perez has been handed a two-year contract extension beyond 2025, his future at Red Bull is uncertain after a string of disappointing results.

“For us, the situation is such that we will also review the overall situation for 2025. We have a number of drivers and we have a concept. But of course, every result is (important) for Sergio, and an eighth place from second on the grid is certainly not what we expected.”

Red Bull team boss Christian Horner was understandably not happy with the result, but insisted Max Verstappen had managed to extend his lead over Lando Norris in the Drivers’ Championship.

“It was a tough race today. We finished 7 seconds behind the leader and overall we struggled. There were some positives though, Max extended his lead over Lando and Checo set the fastest lap of the race. But it was a very close race today.

“We didn’t have a big gap in pace today compared to the others but, thanks to George and Mercedes, I’m not sure they planned to do a one-stop but it worked well for them today.

“We have a lot to think about as we head into the summer break. We continue to lead the Constructors’ and Drivers’ Championships, but the convergence within the field means the gap is closing further and further. We will regroup on Monday, as we always do before a break, and see how we can come back and fight for the second half of the season,” concluded Horner.