Red Bull backs struggling Perez driving Lawson to the rear

Kiwi driver Liam Lawson’s F1 ambitions have hit a speed bump with news that Red Bull bosses are backing their struggling driver Sergio Perez of Mexico and sticking with him into the second part of the season.

Team principal Christian Horner and Red Bull motorsport adviser Helmut Marko met yesterday to discuss Perez’s form. Horner later told Red Bull staff they were backing Perez.

“Checo remains a Red Bull Racing driver despite recent speculation and we look forward to seeing him perform at tracks he has previously excelled at after the summer break,” Horner told staff at the team’s factory, in Milton Keynes, England.

Perez’s slump has seen him bag just 28 points in the past eight races, after securing a respectable 103 in the first six races of the campaign. He has not finished on the podium since the fourth race of the season, despite his teammate Max Verstappen comfortably leading the drivers’ championship in a comparable car.

It’s understood Red Bull was considering dropping their beleaguered Mexican during F1′s summer break - which began after last weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix.

A Perez exit would have freed up a seat for Lawson, either in the vacated Red Bull car or with the sister team Racing Bulls, if Australian Daniel Ricciardo was promoted to the top team.

Despite his poor form, Red Bull signed Perez to a contract extension two months ago, with termination clauses that would make it possible for them to axe the driver for poor results.

After the Belgian Grand Prix, where he finished seventh, Perez was brusque with reporters who asked about his future.

“We have too much going on in the team and a lot of things that we have to focus on, and we cannot waste any energy with all this speculation,” he said.

“This is the last time I will speak about the future. So just to make it clear for everyone, I will not be speaking anymore. I will not answer any more questions about the future.”

Lawson is scheduled to take a test drive with Red Bull, using the 2022 AlphaTauri car at Imola next week in a bid to press his case for a fulltime place on the grid.

The Formula 1 season resumes with the Dutch Grand Prix from August 23-25.

This article was first published on nzherald.co.nz and is republished here with permission