Huge pressure on Perez: 'Gasly will hope he doesn't perform'

Max Verstappen has his fourth teammate in four years at Red Bull Racing in Sergio Perez. The Mexican will have to do what Pierre Gasly and Alexander Albon never managed to do: offer resistance to Verstappen. However, the pressure is on.

In the last two years there has been a huge battle for the second seat at Red Bull. Since the departure of Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull has not been able to fill this seat properly. Pierre Gasly tried first, but was forced out after just six months. Albon was given a year and a half, but also failed to become competitive.

''It was probably just too much for him (Gasly). I'm not going to do that. He wasn't able to deal with the kind of pressure that comes with it. Sergio went through a similar situation at McLaren. That didn't work out well either. He has matured at Racing Point but he still has that relaxed attitude he always had," said Johnny Herbert, according to Motorsport.com.

The former Formula 1 driver has high hopes for Verstappen's new teammate. ''Now he gets a second chance. Can he take on Max Verstappen? Yes, he can. But it's how you absorb the pressure.'' Indeed, in the background, Albon, Gasly and also Yuki Tsunoda will be hoping for mistakes from the Mexican.

''Pierre probably doesn't want Sergio to perform well. If he does and acts more or less on a par with Max Verstappen, it will be harder to lay claim to that seat. I think Sergio can achieve great things at Red Bull. We'll have to wait and see how well he performs compared to Max. That will be interesting to follow. If it doesn't turn out well, Pierre is much improved and one of Red Bull's own guys. Maybe they'll give him a second chance'', Herbert concluded.