Hot Take: Everyone is being too hard on Checo
Hot Take: Everyone is being too hard on Checo
I keep hearing that Checo Isn't performing well.
I see it this way: so far this year, he has had 2 wins, 5 podiums, 2 pole positions, 2 fastest laps, and a 1st and 2nd in sprint races.
With the exception of Monaco, he has finished in the top 6.
Sure, he's no Max Verstappen, and the team knows that, but he is putting his Red Bull towards the top pretty consistently. He gets screwed sometimes in qualifying, but he makes it up and scores good points for the team.
He's second in the driver's championship pretty handily as well.
Maybe I'm missing some context, so I'd like to know what the rest of you think about it.
He's in a car that should be 1-2 in every race is the problem.
41This isn't unprecidented though. All the way back to 2000, the second driver in the dominant car has had similar performance with the exception of 2014 - 2016 when Lewis and Nico absolutely dominated.
-3Go back and rewatch those seasons, compare it to this year's RB plus tires that are better understood and a monster DRS that should have him past most cars without any trouble. This is an easy job for Checo (or should be), I'd wager most of the drivers on the grid would be able to make a 1-2 stick. Marko knows this, Ricciardo in AT is soft pressure to warn Checo he needs to step up or step away.
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The fact that he’s stayed 2nd in the championship shows how dominant the Red Bull was in the beginning of the season and how dominant it still is. One thing for sure is that he’s not meeting his targets in qualifying or races. Which is either pole position/winning or being runner up. Top 6 is not where his Red Bull should be. It should be in the top 2. By being in the top 6, he’s letting Aston, Ferrari, and Mercedes pick up constructor points.
You have to evaluate his performance against his past performance this season. If he’s capable of pole positions and race wins in 2023, why is he missing out on Q3 and finishing in the Top 6?
Checo is not performing well at the moment.
26Permanently Deleted
17I don't like to dogpile drivers. But Perez is having a shocker when you consider the car he is driving. He's not got into Q3 in how many races? 6 now? That alone shows how much he is underperforming. How many times has he finished behind multiple objectively slower cars? I was all aboard the hype train earlier in the year but I'm not sure I can remember a hype train derailing in such an epic way (oh wait, Ferrari last year).
16If Red Bull were in a tight battle with the constructors Checo would easily cost them the title.
I feel like he’s actually been getting a pass because its not been a tight battle between Red Bull and someone else.
Only recently when he went from mediocre to absolutely abysmal did people start to really notice. Because how could you not.
14In a clean race, that RB should be on the podium every time. Less than that is subpar.
12His teammate has 5 straight dominant easy wins while he barely makes q2 and takes half the race to get to points. No one is being too hard, he’s had bright spots and wins because HE BLOODY WELL SHOULD WHEN HES IN THE FASTEST CAR ON THE TRACK
11Pretty handily 2nd? Alonso is just 20 points away while Aston is falling back for several races now
10I think you're trying extra hard to be generous but it's undeserved. Checo is a good driver but he seems to need near-optimal conditions to qualify well - the right circuit, the right track conditions, the right weather. The problem is that you're often not afforded that much stability on a race weekend and the last few races have demonstrated his inability to adapt. Until he finds a way to handle difficult conditions he's gonna continue to get creamed by Max.
As for him doing a good job - he's not even achieving the bare minimum, which should be a podium every weekend at the very least. The only reason why his performances haven't caused major concern at Red Bull yet is because the pace of the RB19 means that Max doesn't need a wing man this season.
9The car is a rocketship... Yes he does recover decently enough in the race but he has missed Q3 in the last 5? Qualifyings. This is simply unacceptable given how dominant that car is. Maybe he is in a slump, that's fine but if this continues he needs to go.
8The car is hot and the driver is not. Rics tire test #s were too good. Maybe too good for him and De Vryes. It makes things complicated for all three of em. Riccardo needs to be put back in next season not mid season. But...take what you can get I guess. Perez is out unless he pulls miracles out of a car that will not be upgraded significantly compared to competitors. Max would lead the constructors without Checo so it's a dead head seat this year. Checo can run out his contract in a sim if Marko wants. Liam Lawson next up in the crucible.
3Yeah he’s having an excellent season. He’s number two in the driver standings (for now!) and Red Bull is 1 in the constructor. I think RBR is perfectly happy with those results WHILE also keeping an eye on his recent issues.
Checos recent performances won’t work once there’s another team challenging Red Bull. But for now, they’re dominant enough to make it work.
2This is why they should be hard on him. They have an advantage but for how long. Although it seems they are focusing on next year already (did Red Bull bring any upgrades to the car this year, I feel like there was only one), this still can become tight if there are a couple of DNFs for Max/Checo and others bring upgrades that close the gap significantly...especially if Checo does not return to his prior form and keeps getting knocked out q2/q3 and not finishing in top 3.
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