Red Bull chief shares Sergio Perez “failed” admission as 2024 F1 plan becomes clear

Red Bull asserted dominance in the F1 arena as Max Verstappen clinched the drivers’ title, with Sergio Perez securing second place. However, not everyone within the team is completely content. Despite Red Bull’s overall dominance in 2023, Technical Director Pierre Wache believes that the struggles faced by Sergio Perez indicate a team “failure.”

Perez, finishing as the runner-up to teammate Max Verstappen, contributed to Red Bull achieving a historic feat of having both drivers lead the championship. Nevertheless, Perez’s journey to this position was far from smooth. At one point, his performance seemed jeopardized, and although he eventually secured his position, inconsistent results left him 290 points behind at the season’s conclusion.

While Verstappen consistently maximized the potential of the high-speed RB19, Perez encountered difficulties in doing so. This discrepancy in driver performance is the source of dissatisfaction for Red Bull’s Technical Chief Wache. According to him, the team fell short as only Max could effectively handle the car throughout various conditions, highlighting Verstappen’s talent. Wache suggests that Red Bull may not have fully grasped what Perez needed to unleash the RB19’s potential.

Wache’s frustration implies that addressing this issue will be a priority for him and his design colleagues as they develop the 2024 car. Closing the performance gap between Red Bull and competitors could necessitate both drivers performing at their best for a successful title defense.

Mercedes Team Boss Toto Wolff acknowledged Verstappen as the only driver consistently performing at his peak in 2023. Wolff expressed difficulty understanding the performance fluctuations seen in drivers across various teams, including the Perez-Verstappen dynamic. He attributed these oscillations to the car’s interaction with tire grip, emphasizing the importance of finding a stable platform to extract optimal performance. Wolff concluded that Max Verstappen was the only one who truly understood how to navigate the challenges posed by the tires in the 2023 season.