Rosberg understands Perez: 'I too once had the task of keeping F1 exciting'

Red Bull Racing have scored a lot less than McLaren in the last three races, despite the team claiming both 2023 F1 titles in those racesSergio Perezho is miles behind teammate Max Verstappen, and 2016 F1 champion Nico Rosberg feels sorry for the Mexican. Indeed, things are not looking good for Checo.

Has Perez disappointed F1 fans?

The German suggested the above point in a conversation with Sky Sports. An ultimatum seems to have been issued by Red Bull in which Perez is obliged to cash in P2 in the drivers' championship to keep his contract with the team in 2024. Although this ultimatum has not been confirmed by the team, it seems to be undoubtedly true that Perez is under heavy pressure at Red Bull. Team advisor Dr Helmut Marko and team boss Christian Horner often increase pressure with raunchy comments to the media.

Rosberg said: "First of all, I feel for him because it's such a horrible situation to be in. The pressure of the world on his shoulders and the social media world is criticising him so much. All F1 fans are relying on him as well to keep things exciting. And in a way, he let F1 fans down because he made it too easy for Verstappen."

'Rosberg once had same job as Perez'

The former Mercedes driver says he knows exactly what that pressure from the global F1 community feels like. Rosberg: "I was in that situation with Hamilton. I was really carrying the expectation of everybody on my shoulders to keep it exciting and to not let the racing become boring with Lewis Hamilton being too dominant". Rosberg clearly believes Perez is not doing his job. According to the German, that could cost Perez his seat at Red Bull next year.

The fact that McLaren scored 104 points with Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris in the last three races, coming out stronger than Red Bull with 75 points, is entirely down to Perez. Red Bull is, therefore, left with a big problem. That's how Rosberg sees it. Rosberg: "A really, really big headache because they need two top drivers in the car to score some solid points, and Sergio is massively underperforming at the moment for reasons that I struggle to understand because I know that he's a great driver. It's very difficult to understand why he would be so far off."