Sergio Perez is doing what he can in 2024 and says he is driving with enormous confidence. Yet Max Verstappen continues to cause doubts within Red Bull Racing about the position of the second driver. After all, is Verstappen really that good or is Perez perhaps just too bad too?

Since Daniel Ricciardo' s departure, Red Bull Racing has been searching to find the right man next to Max Verstappen. The front-runner position has been filled, but every team would like a second driver as close to that as possible. Therefore, Red Bull will not be completely satisfied yet.

Initially, with Pierre Gasly and Alexander Albon, it opted for young talents alongside Max Verstappen. That did not turn out to be a success. The young drivers struggled too much with themselves, could not understand how and why they were so much slower than their teammate and barely got within half a second of Verstappen on qualifying day.

Why Red Bull Racing chose Perez

Such a big difference cannot be justified for a top team. In retrospect, Helmut Marko once suggested that maybe they should have given Albon a bit more time, but the Thai also needed a good period at Williams to recover. After all, losing so often and so badly on a weekly basis does something to your self-confidence.

In that respect, the choice of a more experienced driver in 2021 was only logical. Red Bull wanted a driver who would be closer to Verstappen, but above all mentally able to handle being beaten over a whole year. A driver who has therefore already experienced something in his career and is especially happy with the opportunity at a top team.

Red Bull therefore ended up with Perez. The Mexican wasted a chance early in his career at a top team(McLaren) and then had to make do with a car good enough for the middle or sub-top. So getting the chance at a top team was a dream come true for him after his contract at Racing Point was ripped up.

The choice worked out well in 2021. In a car that was at the end of regulations, it was difficult for Perez to get in. The gap to Verstappen was large, but in Abu Dhabi Perez proved his worth by being just close enough to the leading duo. The Mexican's next step was expected in 2022.

That next step also came from Perez. The Mexican finished second in Australia, Imola and Spain, to even win the Grand Prix in Monaco. It earned Perez a new deal at Red Bull Racing, locking him in until 2024.

Why Perez won't get another long deal

Helmut Marko may now regret that contract a little. Asked if Perez can already count on a new deal now, he revealed that he fears Perez will then perform less. The statement is not surprising. After his deal in 2022, Perez's performance also declined. In early 2023 he was briefly there, but after expressing his desire to challenge Verstappen for the world title, Perez did not win a single race.

So Perez certainly does not have to count on a quick deal, although he himself will want clarity soon. The problem is that Verstappen's performance will always cause question marks. No matter how hard Perez tries and how often he finishes second, it remains remarkable how far apart the two drivers are. Especially for a top team.

Take the qualifying duel. The average difference between Perez and Verstappen this year is 0.280s after four races. Of course, it is still only four races, but this average is Perez's best average since he joined Red Bull. In the past three years, the difference was successively four tenths, three tenths and four tenths again.

0.208s seems little, but compared to the competition, it is a big difference. Between Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz, there was no more than a tenth difference on average in recent years. Similarly, Lewis Hamilton and George Russell are no further apart than a tenth on average. Besides the difference, those drivers also regularly sit ahead of the other driver, where at Red Bull Racing Verstappen almost always qualifies and finishes ahead of his teammate in the race.

The difference between the two drivers will cause a question mark at Red Bull Racing. Is Perez really the best possible second man for Red Bull Racing, or is a better man attainable? Would the team actually take a step forward if, say, Carlos Sainz, Alexander Albon or Yuki Tsunoda were brought to the team now, or would they also be stranded a long way from Verstappen?

Red Bull is in the luxury position of being able to wait before handing out a new contract. It will monitor to what extent Perez is able to keep the gap as it is or ideally narrow it. If it can, it is the ideal second man, but with such a gap on Saturday, Red Bull will always have doubts whether Perez is good enough if the competition does manage to get closer.