Two practice laps. That’s all it took for Sergio Perez to show – much to his own astonishment – how the Red Bull pendulum has swung ahead of this weekend’s Hungarian Grand Prix. From a position of such strength three months ago off the back of two wins in four races, the Mexican’s spot at the runaway leaders in Formula One looks to be shrouded in more doubt as the weeks go on.
On Friday, barely five minutes into first practice at the short and twisty Hungaroring in Budapest, Perez inexplicably clipped the grass and crashed heavily into the barrier at turn five. The shunt is a sign of the times.
As much as everyone at Red Bull insist the 33-year-old will remain with the team until at least the end of his contract and the end of the 2024 season, Christian Horner and Helmut Marko have shown they won’t wait. Patience is not a virtue adhered to at Red Bull.
First, there’s been Perez’s own bad form. Since qualifying on pole in Miami at the start of May, he has not made the final qualifying session in five attempts; three of those have been an overwhelmingly poor Q1 elimination.
Whilst the Mexican is second in the world championship, he is 99 points behind Max Verstappen in the same machinery. Results in comparison to your teammate remain the ultimate barometer in F1 and right now, Perez is woefully short of pace and consistency.
And second, here comes Daniel Ricciardo. The Australian, so forlorn of confidence in his final year at McLaren in 2022, is back in the sport having replaced Nyck de Vries at Red Bull’s sister team AlphaTauri. More significantly, he looks a figure completely rejuvenated for his eight months off.
Having told The Independent that race wins and a world championship remains his ultimate goal, the popular Australian did not wilt when asked if a Red Bull seat – perhaps as soon as 2024, more likely in 2025 – was the long-term target.
“It’s kind of another chance to make things better,” Ricciardo said in Budapest. “I think that’s why I was excited to get back behind the wheel and just kind of show my true self. Even the thought of that excites me.
“Obviously the dream is a Red Bull seat. Of course that was my wish, but you need to be realistic, and if I want to get back into Red Bull it will be a process, and this is the best path for me at the moment.”
That path starts with beating AlphaTauri teammate Yuki Tsunoda in the remaining 12 races this season, in what is distinguishably the worst car on the grid.
In his first running in 2023, Ricciardo was 14th in second practice on Friday, while FP1 earlier in the day was foiled by a few red flags and variable weather, rendering it largely irrelevant in terms of action.
As for Perez, he was only 18th-fastest in second practice, ahead of an alternative qualifying format on Saturday where each of the three sessions will require a different tyre.
Charles Leclerc was fastest for Ferrari, with Lando Norris second for McLaren and Alpine’s Pierre Gasly in third.
Max Verstappen could only manage 11th in a session which was difficult to read, though Mercedes really struggled – Lewis Hamilton was only 16th on the leaderboard and last year’s pole-sitter George Russell was dead last.
A tough day to decipher. Expect Verstappen’s usual season dominance to return over the weekend, especially with a package which should improve the RB19’s already imperious aerodynamic performance.
One element which was not hard to read, though, was Perez’s current anxiety in the cockpit. And a need to reverse his damaging slide, for his own sake, as soon as possible.
Read MoreDaniel Ricciardo is back - and this time he wants to go out on top
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