Pink Bull wants two drivers “firing on all cylinders”, warns Christian Horner following lacklustre efficiency from Sergio Perez.
Just like the Ferrari pair, the Mexican’s issues started on Saturday when he did not make it out of Q2 and certified thirteenth for the next day’s race.
Like most he cited an absence of grip and in addition “one thing happening with the tyres” that prevented him qualifying increased up the grid.
Although he made up a variety of positions at first on account of the incident involving the Williams pair and Tsunoda, his subsequent progress was primarily the results of the pit stops and consequently he spent a lot of the night working behind Nico Hulkenberg, in a lot the identical manner as he had earlier struggled to go rookie Franco Colapinto.
It was a world away from his battling efficiency every week earlier in Baku, and whereas his teammate was preventing to stop a McLaren 1-2 and maintain Pink Bull within the title struggle, Perez was solely to contribute a single level to the kitty.
Christian Horner was not impressed, and as Daniel Ricciardo seems to have had his final outing for RB, Perez’s long-term future is as soon as once more unsure.
“He was caught round Hulkenberg for principally 30 laps,” sighed the Pink Bull boss. “I imply, Checo had first lap, he’d certified out of place, after which he simply actually struggled to overhaul.
“He was struggling a bit for traction within the areas the place you need the traction out of Flip 3 and onto the again straight,” he admitted. “However, that was what he might handle in the present day.
“We have to have two drivers firing on all cylinders,” he added. “He had weekend final weekend. He had a troublesome weekend this weekend.
“We have to put some weekends collectively the place you possibly can see the place McLaren are placing two drivers on the rostrum. It is these large factors that basically make a distinction.
“We have to be sure that Checo goes as far off the sector as we will get it, by way of discovering the proper path.”
The Mexican nevertheless put a lot of the blame on the crew’s technique, believing it ought to have used the identical aggressive technique as Ferrari did with Carlos Sainz.
“Taking a look at it, while you see the place Carlos completed we in all probability misplaced a chance to make extra progress and undercut extra individuals. As soon as we went on an analogous tyre age behind Nico, it was just about it.”
It is nearly sure that Liam Lawson is to step into the second RB alongside Tsunoda, however waiting for subsequent 12 months, and presumably even the remaining six races, Pink Bull might take a bet and put the New Zealander within the second Pink Bull.