Guenther Steiner has admitted that he was shocked Sergio Perez kept his Formula 1 place with Red Bull, as he revealed that he tried to sign him twice whilst at Haas.
Perez has undergone a wretched run in recent times which has seen him amass a dismal 28 points in the last seven races to place Red Bull’s title hopes under threat.
Despite having a contract in place through next season, Perez’s disastrous streak prompted Red Bull to evaluate his position during an annual summer break meeting.
However, Red Bull, which holds a dwindling 42-point lead over McLaren in the Constructors’ Championship, has elected to provide Perez a reprieve past the shutdown.
Steiner has divulged that he was taken aback when the news was communicated that Perez would be remaining in the RB20 alongside Max Verstappen at Zandvoort.
“I said live on German TV – ‘I don’t think we will see Checo back after the summer break’,” Steiner told RacingNews365.
“But I think 90 per cent of people in Formula 1 said that, if not more than 90 per cent, because his performance is just not there.
“All the messages we got from Christian [Horner] and Helmut [Marko] over the weekend were like, ‘We need to make some changes’, and that’s why I picked them up.
“I didn’t make it up because I cannot judge if Checo should stay there or not, and I’ve no vote in that decision. But the message was, ‘Yeah, there will be some changes’.
“I was as surprised as you guys when I read it. Nothing against Checo but he just didn’t perform.”
Steiner has compared Perez’s current predicament to the situation Daniel Ricciardo, who could replace the Mexican, endured during his ill-fated period with McLaren.
“He’s obviously in this situation now where he cannot overcome, a little bit like Danny,” remarked Steiner. “He just cannot get out of the hole.
“I didn’t expect him to be there until the end of the year. But I’m sure they know what they’re doing.”
Perez, whose F1 career started back in 2011, earned a second chance with a leading team in Red Bull in 2021 due to his continued standout showings in the midfield.
Steiner has disclosed that Perez was on his radar numerous times when he was team boss at Haas between 2016 and 2023, but a deal never ended up materialising.
“He was a good driver at the time,” he recalled. “His behaviour in the team was very good, he got on with people, which is always important. He was just a solid driver.
“Maybe he was not a race winner or a championship-winning driver, but at Haas, we couldn’t ask someone of Lewis Hamilton’s class to come and join.
“But Checo was a potential candidate when we were doing well, so that’s what I saw in him.”
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