Former Haas F1 team principal Guenther Steiner is baffled by Red Bull’s decision to retain Sergio Perez, a driver the Italian admitted he tried to recruit several times during his tenure at the helm of the US outfit.
Perez’s future was placed under intense scrutiny ahead of F1’s summer break due to his lacklustre results. The Mexican has endured a torrid run of form, culminating in a meager 28 points from the last seven races.
The slump has cast a shadow over Red Bull’s title aspirations, prompting the team to hold a crucial meeting after the Belgian Grand Prix – the final race before F1’s three-week shut-down – to assess Perez’s situation.
Despite the mounting pressure, the team opted to retain the 34-year-old for the remainder of the 2024 season.
Steiner, who has never shied away from voicing his opinion, expressed astonishment at the decision.
“I said live on German TV – ‘I don’t think we will see Checo back after the summer break’,” he told RacingNews365.
“But I think 90 per cent of people in Formula 1 said that, if not more than 90 per cent, because his performance is just not there.”
Steiner reckoned that the comments and optics coming out of the Red Bull camp all pointed to Perez’s imminent replacement.
“All the messages we got from Christian [Horner] and Helmut [Marko] over the weekend were like, ‘We need to make some changes’, and that’s why I picked them up.
“I didn’t make it up because I cannot judge if Checo should stay there or not, and I’ve no vote in that decision. But the message was, ‘Yeah, there will be some changes’.
“I was as surprised as you guys when I read it. Nothing against Checo but he just didn’t perform.”
Former Haas team principal Guenther Steiner (R) with Red Bull team boss Christian Horner (L).
Steiner drew a parallel between Perez’s hardship and the plight endured by Daniel Ricciardo at McLaren in 2022.
“He’s obviously in this situation now where he cannot overcome, a little bit like Danny,” remarked Steiner. “He just cannot get out of the hole.
“I didn’t expect him to be there until the end of the year. But I’m sure they know what they’re doing.”
Interestingly, Steiner revealed that he had made multiple attempts to sign Perez during his eight-year tenure at Haas.
“He was a good driver at the time,” he recalled. “His behaviour in the team was very good, he got on with people, which is always important. He was just a solid driver.
“Maybe he was not a race winner or a championship-winning driver, but at Haas, we couldn’t ask someone of Lewis Hamilton’s class to come and join. But Checo was a potential candidate when we were doing well, so that’s what I saw in him.”
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