Parc Ferme: The Red Bull Driver Dilemma

As it stands at the moment, Sergio Perez does not appear to be that solution. I base this on his general qualifying and race performance, together with paddock gossip (there’s no smoke without fire) and the subtle eye-rolling of Christian Horner when he fails to make Q3.

Following another failure to climb out of Q1 in Silverstone, the question of: “What's up with Checo?” has become deafening!

The “Checolytes” are all crying “foul play”, suggesting that Perez’s car is not the same as Verstappen’s. I must admit, there was a time when I thought that might have been the case, especially earlier on in the season when the Team wished to disavow him of the idea that he could challenge the young Dutchman for the F1 Driver’s Championship. However, that time, if it ever was a thing, has now passed.

Perez’s problem lies in two places, and the first is his Teammate. There is no “I’ in team, but there is “me”, or in this case, Max. Every strength has a weakness. In Max’s case, he is so self-focused that the idea that he may need a teammate to help him win is not a concept he is familiar with. For the moment, that is not a problem with the RB19 but there may come a time in the future when it is.

All the great F1 World Champions know the value of having a strong number two. Sure, you keep your foot on their head so they remain underwater, but you have to let them come up for some air and catch their breath.

Being Max’s teammate is the psychological equivalent of being waterboarded. The driver is in a constant state of mental drowning. If he’s not being blown away by the Dutchman’s pace, then he’s being deliberately stifled from achieving anything else – fastest lap, second in the World Championship etc.

I don’t think Max sets out to do this necessarily on purpose; it’s just him; it’s part of his DNA.

When I say Team, I mean the Good Doctor and Christian Horner. I have huge respect for what they have achieved at Red Bull, especially Helmut Marko. In particular, I like his no-nonsense approach to some of the driver and father's shenanigans.

However, two great talents were trashed under the blow torch of Verstappen—namely Pierre Gasly and Alex Albon. The same has happened here with Perez. It started off well enough, but he has gradually become ground down by the “Max effect”.

I understand that Teams just want to employ drivers and tell them to get on with it. However, when you have a pilot of Verstappen’s stature, you need to get involved and manage the dynamics.

These days, it appears that the tail is wagging the dog. My impression is that Max has become bigger than Red Bull Racing, and the Team appear to be falling over themselves to keep him happy. Meanwhile, Checo is peering through the pit box window from the outside.

Finding someone mentally strong enough to withstand Verstappen is not easy, even if you had a free hand to pick and choose across the grid.

Many of the drivers see being Max’s teammate as career suicide rather than an opportunity. However, one driver does spring to mind: Nico Hulkenberg.

The German is both mature enough and quick enough for this role. His sabbatical outside of F1 has turned him into a driver that is hungry to win races but is not sucked into the F1 Drivers' World Championship delusion. Someone capable of bringing it home when Max is unable to, and back his play when he can. Most importantly of all, he should be impervious to the Max effect.

It would appear that Verstappen sits right at the top of the F1 driver's pile, and results-wise, he certainly does at the moment.

However, it’s interesting to watch how he engages with the other drivers. He’s not rude or unfriendly, but the body language is that they are inconsequential to proceedings. It’s a kind of “yeah, I win, and you follow somewhere behind, and actually, I don’t care” thing.

That is until Lewis Hamilton enters the room and speaks. I urge you to watch the cooldown room post-race and watch Max’s body language suddenly change. Lewis is the only driver that unnerves him!