Sergio Perez of Mexico and Oracle Red Bull Racing talks to the media in the Paddock during previews ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Spain at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on June 01, 2023 in Barcelona, Spain. (Photo by Adam Pretty/Getty Images) // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool

F1: Perez ‘not fast enough’ says ‘too-slow’ Albers

(GMM) Sergio Perez is simply “not fast enough” to keep his seat at Red Bull, according to Christijan Albers who would know first hand what it means to be too slow.

At home in Mexico, amid swirling rumors about his future despite a signed 2024 contract, Perez crashed out at turn 1 by taking a lunge for the lead from P5 on the grid just 800 meters earlier.

Former Minardi and Spyker driver Christijan Albers told De Telegraaf: “I actually don’t think he did anything wrong there.

Christijan Albers
Christijan Albers knows what it is like to be too slow in Formula1 because he himself was too slow

“Of course he turned in too early, but so did Lewis Hamilton, a seven-time world champion, in Qatar,” he said.

“I prefer that someone goes for it and tries to improve their position – the problem was simply that he squeezed too quickly. (Charles) Leclerc just couldn’t do anything about it.”

Dutchman Albers, 44, said his only problem with Perez is that he’s not good enough to be Max Verstappen’s teammate [but who is?].

“I’m not a Perez fan,” he admitted, “but that’s simply because he doesn’t improve over a weekend even though he has all of Max’s data. The gap in qualifying is simply too big.

“He’s just really lacking. He’s not fast enough.”

Sergio Perez collides with Charles Leclerc
Sergio Perez collides with Charles Leclerc