Reliability has become less and less of an issue in Formula 1 in recent years and the days of simply finishing a race putting you in contention to earn points is a thing of the past.
For the first time in F1 history, all 20 cars finished the opening Grand Prix of a season in Bahrain this year.
Speaking to the Italian outlet Gazzetta dello Sport, former F1 star Rene Arnoux was talking about how that might be a factor at the front of the grid this year.
At the race in Sakhir, Charles Leclerc was battling with a problem with his brakes throughout the race that potentially cost him a spot on the podium.
That appeared to be fixed in Saudi Arabia and Oliver Bearman had no trouble at all jumping into Carlos Sainz’s car in Jeddah at short notice.
Pierre Gasly was the first casualty of the season during the opening laps of that Grand Prix before Lance Stroll sent his car into the barriers.
However, in Australia, reliability finally played a role for Red Bull and Max Verstappen failed to finish a race for the first time in two years, much to the delight of Ferrari fans.
It meant Sergio Perez was required to step up, but he only finished 5 and Arnoux has said that the Mexican often disappears when he’s most needed by the team.
It’s an accusation that he’ll want to avoid going forward, but his role at Red Bull is to pick up the slack on the rare occasion Verstappen isn’t leading the race and he didn’t manage that in Melbourne.
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Rene Arnoux has said that Sergio Perez often ‘disappears’
It’s not an easy job being the number two driver to Max Verstappen at Red Bull.
Plenty of drivers have fallen by the wayside trying to keep up with the three-time world champion but Perez is entering his fourth season with the team.
He’s already been told in the past that he needs to improve his qualifying performances and that is hampering his points-scoring ability at times.
The Mexican had to try and come through the grid from 6 in Australia but failed to make up a place on track, only benefitting from his teammate’s retirement.
Arnoux has now said that Perez often disappears when required which isn’t a good sign at all.
With the 34-year-old – who has raced in 264 Grand Prix – entering the final year of his contract, he’s got plenty to prove over the coming races.
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Speaking about the six-time race winner, Rene Arnoux said: “It’s much closer [Ferrari] to Red Bull, in Australia we had plenty of it confirmation. Not quite at Red Bull’s level yet, but almost.
“But then it’s also true that Red Bull only has one car in front. Because Perez is a number two, sometimes three. He often disappears.”
While noises are coming from the paddock that Perez has already agreed a one-year extension to his contract, Red Bull may want to keep their options open.
Team principal Christian Horner reportedly already has a preferred candidate for the 34-year-old should he move on.
He’s likely to be one of the last drivers to discover his fate because of the precious nature of the driver’s market this year.
The only way for Perez to dismiss that speculation is with his performances and make sure he’s closing up to and potentially even beating his extremely talented teammate.
The post ‘He often disappears’: Rene Arnoux left far from impressed by 264-race ‘number three’ driver appeared first on F1 Oversteer.