Signing a new Formula 1 contract typically takes the pressure off a driver, especially during a season where so many deals are coming to an end.
There was some surprise among F1 fans when Red Bull announced that Sergio Perez would be staying with the team until at least the end of the 2025 season.
However, pundit and racing driver Justin Bell, speaking on the Drive to Wynn Podcast, believes that the Mexican driver might have been given the ‘kiss of death’ by Red Bull chief Helmut Marko.
It’s impossible to ignore Sergio Perez’s recent drop in form after a promising start to the campaign.
He seemed to be a decent support driver for teammate Max Verstappen at the beginning of the year, recording four podiums in the first five races.
Unfortunately, after scraping a 4 place finish in Miami after fighting his way onto the podium in the Sprint Race, he’s had three torrid race weekends.
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Helmut Marko might have delivered the ‘kiss of death’ to Red Bull’s Sergio Perez
It’s not a good sign that after nine race weekends, Sergio Perez is at the top of one championship that no driver wants to be leading.
Perez has accumulated more crash damage than any other driver this season including the likes of Kevin Magnussen and Logan Sargeant.
He added to that tally at the Canadian Grand Prix when he spun at turn six and went rear-first into the barriers.
The 34-year-old kept the car going but his rear wing was hanging off and while he dragged the car back to the pits to avoid bringing out a safety car that could have impacted Verstappen’s race, he’s been penalised as a result.
A lot has been made of Sergio Perez’s poor performances in qualifying this season.
It’s an aspect of his performance that team principal Christian Horner has told Perez he must improve this year.
However, he’s now suffered back-to-back Q1 exits and picked up a three-place grid penalty for not stopping his car before on the track in Montreal such was the extent of the damage he suffered.
Helmut Marko wasn’t particularly impressed with Perez after the race which won’t come as a surprise to anybody.
Bell now believes that one of Marko’s comments might just be the ‘kiss of death’ for Perez’s career.
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Sergio Perez still under pressure despite new Red Bull contract
Talking about both Red Bull drivers at the Canadian Grand Prix, Bell said: “Obviously, in contrast, Sergio Perez was dismal.
“Helmut Marko said by the way that he [Sergio Perez] has physiological issues which I’m sure in sportsman’s terms is a real kiss of death, so two years may seem like an eternity if we get there.”
Sergio Perez will hope that Red Bull can re-establish the gap they had over the likes of Ferrari and McLaren when they head to the Spanish Grand Prix.
He’s a few tenths behind Verstappen at every race but the grid has closed up so much that Perez now regularly finds himself well down the pecking order, especially over one lap.
Although Perez’s contract can run until the end of 2026, he will almost certainly have to hit some targets to earn that second year.
On his current form, it’s hard to see the 34-year-old activating that clause but he still has plenty of time this year to turn that around.
The post 'An eternity’: Sergio Perez told that Helmut Marko might have just given him the ‘kiss of death’ – pundit appeared first on F1 Oversteer.
