EXCLUSIVE: Red Bull star highlights KEY Perez failure as replacement rumours swirl

A star of Formula 1 has weighed in on the debate of whether Sergio Perez has cost Red Bull the chance to retain the constructors' title in 2024.

With star driver Max Verstappen set to take home the drivers' championship, potentially as early as next weekend at the Las Vegas Grand Prix, the team could be left reeling from their indecision to make a driver lineup change earlier in the year.

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Whilst Verstappen hasn't been dealt the easiest of seasons, his masterclass of a victory last time out in Brazil proved he has still earned the championship this year, despite experiencing a winless streak that lasted almost five months prior to his impressive display at Interlagos.

Perez on the other hand hasn't stepped on the podium since the Chinese GP back in April, his disappointing performances often producing zero points for Christian Horner's outfit, as the team watched their chances of doing the championship double once again slowly slip away from them.

Red Bull's rival throughout 2024 has been McLaren, the papaya outfit securing frequent wins and vital points thanks to their strong driver duo of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.

With Norris claiming three victories and Piastri stepping on the top step of the podium twice so far this season, McLaren have now cemented their position as the team to beat at the top of the constructors' standings, two places above Red Bull.

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Is Perez the root of Red Bull's issue?

Perez has been under constant pressure this season, with frequent talk of his suggested axing from Red Bull, especially following the untimely sacking of VCARB star Daniel Ricciardo.

In an exclusive interview with GPFans, former F1 driver and Red Bull ambassador David Coulthard discussed his recent groundbreaking initiative, the modern landscape of the sport and where the season might have gone wrong for his former team.

"I’ve yet to see Checo [perform] other than the reasonable race in Azerbaijan…" Coulthard trailed off before we discussed what could have been had Perez not crashed out of the race in Baku in its final stages.

"I think they're [McLaren] definitely in the pound seat for the constructors’ championship, drivers’ championship there's so much that none of us know, including McLaren and Red Bull right now, how are the upgrades working?

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"Where McLaren potentially have an advantage is they’ve got two guys, they can be taking away points from Max… there’s a lot of points in the championship so we're going to have to tune in right?

"Red Bull are on the back foot, they don't have the quickest package, they did have the quickest package at the beginning of the year and they are trying to unpick where the upgrades stopped working for them and we'll see if there's enough time and enough budget because development comes out the budget cap and whether within the time allowed because that's all regulated."

The racing star and F1 pundit raised a significant point, with Verstappen essentially carrying the reigning champions single-handedly for at least the latter half of the season, could Horner's team have avoided the disappointment of a third-place finish behind McLaren and Ferrari had they cut Perez loose earlier in the year?

This may have also potentially avoided the need to force Ricciardo into an early retirement.

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