Red Bull may receive some criticism if indeed they decide to renew the contract of Sergio Perez. The Mexican driver has generally failed to get near Max Verstappen during their partnership.
Perez is reportedly in line for an extension in the near future despite the glaring deficit between the two drivers. Verstappen is already 62 points ahead in the standings and the 34-year-old is yet to beat him in any meaningful session.
Many will question whether he’s done enough to merit staying put, but the one thing that he does virtually guarantee is harmony. With Verstappen often a long way ahead on the track and in the table, there has been little evident tension within the team in recent years.
And Red Bull will vividly remember that this hasn’t always been the case. Daniel Ricciardo was close with Verstappen but they infamously collided at the 2018 Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
And going further back, there were multiple flashpoints in the relationship between Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber. They formed the team’s driver line-up for five straight seasons between 2009 and 2013.
Vettel and Webber came together at the 2010 Turkish GP as they both battled for the world championship. Three years later in Malaysia, the German ignored a ‘Multi 21’ order to hold position and passed his teammate for the win.
Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly similar to Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber – Helmut Marko
Writing in his column for Speedweek, Red Bull executive director Helmut Marko drew a comparison between the Vettel/Webber pairing and Alpine duo Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly. Ocon has attracted all the wrong headlines after the events of the Monaco Grand Prix.
The 27-year-old ignored instructions from his team with a risky move down the inside of Portier on the first lap of the race, taking himself out of the race and damaging Gasly’s car. He’s now facing the threat of a one-race suspension in Canada.
This is the second time the seven-podium pairing has come to blows out on track since Gasly’s arrival at the start of last year. They suffered a double DNF at the 2023 Australian GP after colliding in a post-red flag restart.
Marko says Red Bull were able to lay down the law effectively after the crash involving Vettel and Webber. But Alpine face an ‘even more difficult’ situation because it’s now happened twice.
“Another accident on the first lap that caused discussion was the crash between the two Alpine teammates Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon,” he wrote. “We had this happen twice at Red Bull Racing, when teammates got in each other’s way, once in 2018 with Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen in Baku, and once with Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel in 2010 in Turkey.
“In both cases, we called both drivers into the company and discussed it openly with them and made it clear to them that such collisions with teammates are simply not acceptable. Ricciardo left us at the end of the season and with Webber there were no more such incidents; they accepted that it was not acceptable.
He later added: The problem with Alpine, however, is that it was not the first time, and I think that makes things even more difficult.”
Williams no longer interested in Ocon as Alpine exit looms
Ocon’s role in the incident with Gasly could have major ramifications for his Formula 1 future. His Alpine contract expires at the end of the season, and it seems like there’s next-to-no chance of an extension.
Journalist Nate Saunders says it’s increasingly likely Ocon will move on after a ‘mind-blowing’ lunge. He’s simply causing the team too many ‘headaches’.
But the problem for the 2021 Hungarian GP winner is that his broader reputation has suffered as well. This is now the sixth major incident he’s had with his teammate during his F1 career.
And that may put off prospective suitors who are wary of division within the garage. Sure enough, Williams team principal James Vowles has ‘no interest’ in signing Ocon because he doesn’t see him as a ‘team player’.
The 27-year-old has also been among the candidates to replace Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes given that team principal Toto Wolff acts as his manager. But they too could be deterred by what they witnessed in Monte Carlo.
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