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Slipstream Saturdays: Sergio Perez Has Got To “Go”

The title of this article, obviously, offers dual messages about the fate of Red Bull’s No. 2 driver, Mexico’s Sergio Perez. One could mean Perez needs to “leave” Red Bull. The other could mean Perez needs to step up his performance to match what Red Bull expects. These are mixed messages. Mixed messages are also what you might call signing Perez to a two-year contract extension on June 4th that possibly contained a clause stating that the contract could be terminated should Perez not perform up to the standards listed in the contract. Reportedly, the addendum stipulates that if Perez falls 100 points behind Verstappen in the driver standings at specific points of the season, Red Bull has the right to annul the extension.

In short, if the clause kicks in, Perez could be kicked out.

And guess what? For once in his Red Bull career, Perez met a performance clause in his contract. Currently, Perez is 137 points behind Verstappen, and if the clause is, in fact, in the contract, then Red Bull is entirely within its right to annul the extension. 

You can’t blame Red Bull for trying to protect themselves from something they thought likely to happen. And given Perez’s recent performance (15 points in his last six races), Red Bull looks like they knew what they were doing. So, Red Bull extended a driver without having complete confidence in him. And Perez agreed to the contract, which means he did(?) have full confidence in himself. 

I don’t know who Perez’s agent is, but he/she should have advised him to tell Red Bull to shove it up their rear diffuser. 

Who in their right mind actually signs a contract with a clause that penalizes you for your performance, or lack thereof? A simple rewording of the contract and the penalty can become an incentive. As in, “If Perez is more than 100 points behind Verstappen at this point, Red Bull has the right to void the contract” becomes “If Perez is within 100 points of Verstappen at this point, he’s awarded a monetary incentive.” See what I did there?

In the incentive-based contract clause, Red Bull is still protecting itself from Perez’s potential lack of performance, and Perez is protecting himself from being totally out of a job because of his potential lack of performance. It’s much more advantageous for Perez to sign a contract with no clause giving Red Bull an “out” because should they decide to terminate his contract, Red Bull would still be on the hook for paying.

But, of course, Red Bull is not going to do any favors for Perez. Unless you consider a favor motivating him with veiled threats, as Christian Horner did recently when he stated, “He (Perez) knows it’s unsustainable to not be scoring points.” It’s one thing for Horner to say these words to Perez in person; it’s another to say them publicly. And, as we all know, Horner’s actions in public are often very different from those in private. Horner might call his words about Perez a “motivational tool.” One might call Horner a “motivational tool.”     

Perez’s performance in the season’s first six races proved, maybe only temporarily, that he was worthy of an updated contract with Red Bull. In that span, Perez scored 103 points, compared to 136 for Verstappen; respectable for Perez and exactly what Red Bull wanted to see from him. This was likely when Red Bull decided to offer Perez the extension. If Perez had the option to accept and sign the contract extension at that point, he should have. If he didn’t and chose to, as they say, “bet on himself,” then he made a tactical error. 

Perez’s next three results, when he scored only four points, compared to 58 for Verstappen, likely brought about Red Bull’s change of heart. And with it, the so-called “performance clause” in Perez’s contract.

And the three words mentioned above, “compared to Verstappen,” have followed Perez throughout his career with Red Bull. They’ve more than followed him; they’ve haunted him. And it will be impossible for Perez to escape Verstappen’s shadow, especially if he’s the Dutchman’s teammate. 

And does Verstappen even have an opinion about Perez being his teammate? Does Verstappen even know that Perez is his teammate? I don’t think Verstappen cares who his teammate is at all, as long as that teammate knows his one role—upholding the status quo. Verstappen wants a teammate who will literally “hold his jock strap,” while coming from a talent standpoint of one who can’t “hold his own jock strap.” 

Whatever happens, Perez has to use either outcome as motivation. It’s one of two scenarios for him: 1) Use Red Bull giving up on him as his motivation, or 2) Use Red Bull’s lack of trust in him as motivation. Option two seems to be the best one for Perez to stick it to Red Bull if he can prove, through his performance, that they were wrong about him while at the same time taking their money. If you can’t make Red Bull give you wings, make them give you cha-chings.