Verstappen hands Red Bull instruction to halt Perez slump

Max Verstappen has told Red Bull that it can arrest Sergio Perez’s alarming slump in form if it makes its RB20 package stronger.

Perez is suffering from a crisis of confidence having scored just 47 points in the 14 races since the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix.

He has not finished higher than sixth since April’s Chinese GP, as Red Bull has now slipped to third in the constructors’ as both McLaren and Ferrari have their two drivers scoring big points on a regular basis. 

Perez suffered from a particularly humbling home weekend in Mexico, qualifying 18th before finishing last in a damaged machine, but Verstappen believes Perez’s form is not Red Bull’s “biggest problem.”

“I mean, at the moment, this is not our biggest problem,” Verstappen told Sky Sports F1 when asked about Perez’s struggles. 

“We need to improve our car, because if the car is better, naturally, Checo will improve. 

“But I am not thinking about these kind of scenarios, I’m only thinking about how I can be faster with the car. 

“Austin was promising, but [in Mexico], we were really off, and I just hope that in Brazil we can be more competitive again.”