Red Bull weakness identified in Perez form quest

Red Bull technical director Pierre Waché feels he is aware of what is required to help the under-performing Sergio Perez rediscover his confidence.

Perez’s form has slumped alarmingly since a reasonable start to the campaign in which he scored four podiums in the first five races.

Over the past eight grands prix, Perez has only collected 28 points and has slumped to seventh in the drivers’ standings, 146 points behind three-time F1 champion team-mate Max Verstappen.

The drop off led to considerable speculation surrounding his future, which was only allayed on the Monday after the Belgian Grand Prix when team boss Christian Horner informed the factory Perez would continue after the summer break.

Assessing why Perez was looking a shadow of the driver he once was, Waché said: “It’s difficult to say. I think it’s partly us, for sure. We have to try to help him to extract the potential of the car.

“I have some feedback from him. We have some feedback. We try to help him. The point not only reflects how he feels in the car, that is something that… Sometimes he’s unlucky, you know. It’s what happened in some quali that could affect the overall result of the race.”

Red Bull ‘instability’ playing a part

As to whether Perez lacked confidence in the RB20, Waché hinted at something greater, adding: “I’m not a driver, but It looks like the car response is not what he likes. That is something that we have to address on our side.”

Pressed as to the meaning of ‘car response’, Waché continued: “It’s what we suspect.

“It’s difficult to have a right spot on it to say it’s coming from this area of the car. It’s for sure that the more you push the development of the car, the more the behaviour could start to be tricky.

“I have no exact point where we identify where the issue is for him compared to Max. But it’s the fact that the stability of the car could be improved for both drivers, I suspect, will help him.”