Red Bull car remains complicated: "Verstappen has the whole car built around him"

Sergio Perez was close to pole on Saturday and managed to do what Max Verstappen's last two teammates failed to do: He finished ahead of Verstappen on Saturday. On Sunday, however, it was a different story and the Mexican made a mess of his race.

Pressure on Verstappen

Perez surprised friend and foe with a P2 in qualifying for the Grand Prix of Emilia Romagna. Especially because with this P2 he managed to keep Verstappen behind him. In the race, things went from bad to worse for the Mexican though. He lost two places on the first lap, overtook behind the safety car, and once back in the points, he threw away a chance at the podium by a clumsy spin in the gravel.

"Indeed, he didn't get the best out of his car. After a brilliant qualifying, he just made too many mistakes in the race. The nuances around the Red Bull and how Verstappen has been driving that car for years and has the whole thing built around him. Other drivers are struggling to cope. Clearly that there are certain things of the car that need a different way of driving to most other cars on the grid," said Marc Priestley in his new video.

Perez will get there

"The one thing I would say is that because of Sergio Perez's experience I have more faith that he will get there and will unlock the potential. You already see it at times, but not constantly. If Valtteri Bottas doesn't continue to perform and loses his head, Perez could well become the deciding factor in the constructors' championship," he continued. 

When a follower asks if Red Bull Racing would not have been better off keeping Alexander Albon, Priestley is adamant. ''No. Perez has a lot of potential to succeed at Red Bull Racing. His experience means he can deal with the pressure the young talents are under," concluded the former McLaren mechanic.