Helmut Marko sharply criticizes Sergio Perez and Yuki Tsunoda after Mexico’s mistakes

Red Bull Sergio Perez and sister band VCARB’s Yuki Tsunoda came under fire from senior adviser Helmut Marko after qualifying for the Mexican Grand Prix. While Perez was ruled out of the Q1 session after securing 18th place to start the race, Marko looked back on the “unnecessary disaster”, prompting him to suggest the incident was the result of pressure from his new teammate Liam. ​Lawson.

Perez has had a difficult season so far, with his results in stark contrast to his last podium finish at the Chinese Grand Prix in April. Since this race, the Mexican driver has seen a noticeable drop in form. It was later revealed that balance problems in his RB20 were affecting its performance, and the situation only came to light when teammate Max Verstappen began to encounter similar problems in his own car.

Despite extending his contract with Red Bull for two years in May, Perez was at risk of being fired from Red Bull. Marko recently revealed that the team was assessing the performances of Lawson and Tsunoda for the remainder of the 2024 season to decide who would be able to secure a place alongside Verstappen next season.

Perez missed another opportunity to redeem himself during his home race in Mexico as braking issues with his RB20 hampered his ability to perform at his best. While he indicated that the data could support his claim that the qualifying result was not his fault, Marko stressed that the expected improvement in Perez’s performance “did not materialize.” He said Sky Germany: :

“Unfortunately, the economic recovery we all expected did not materialize.

“He complained on the radio about brake problems. At least that’s what I heard. We need to see what exactly is happening, but unfortunately the recovery we all expected has not happened.”

Responding to comments made by Perez’s father, Antonio Perez, in a recent interview in which he expressed confidence that it was only a matter of time before his son won the title of the first Mexican Formula 1 champion, Marko he stated: :

“With all due respect to your father’s optimism, but…”

The other driver to face criticism from Marko was Tsunoda, who the 81-year-old adviser said was under increasing pressure following Lawson’s arrival to the team after the United States Grand Prix, where he replaced Daniel Ricciardo. Referring to Tsunoda’s accident in qualifying, Marko said:

“I would say it was an unnecessary accident.

“He had this rotation in Austin and now there was an accident in qualifying.

“We thought everything had settled down, but now, under Lawson’s pressure, it’s noticeable.”