Perez (left) and Stroll (right) are shown as their teammates. Photo: Shuttershock/Remco de Waal
The Dutch Grand Prix showed the enduring prowess of winner Max Verstappen and second-place Fernando Alonso under difficult conditions. It also highlighted the performance difference between them and their teammates.
Sergio Pérez finished a distant fourth after a five-second penalty, with Lance Stroll taking an anonymous 11th place. This was evident throughout most of the season. Pérez is unable to get close to Verstappen, 138 points behind him and two wins to 11. Stroll doesn't even have a third of his Aston Martin teammate's points and has yet to climb the podium in 2023 — Alonso now has seven.< /p>
Red Bull and Aston Martin are great cars, but their co-pilots are very far from the leaders. The fundamental reasons are different, and probably more complex for Perez than for Stroll.
Stroll's problem
For Stroll, it has more to do with talent and diligence. He lacks the tools his teammate has. In seven seasons in Formula 1 he has achieved good results, but every driver on the grid is capable of it — this does not mean that he is in the upper bracket.
Alonso knows what it takes to get the most out of it off this weekend, and he's doing it very well — probably as good as ever in terms of stability. He leaves no stone unturned. If Stroll was in Formula 2 now, he would not be an outstanding player.
Alonso also lives in Formula 1. He knows he's getting old and he knows when he needs to be in the know, whether it's attending driver meetings or talking to the engineers. Being the owner's son, F1 is not Stroll's life per se. For Alonso, it's everything.
Perez is rocked by Verstappen's trails
Perez's problems getting the most out of the RB19 are more complex, though they also apply to Stroll and just about any «second» rider who struggles compared to his fellow rider. team. It's about driving the car in optimal settings. Verstappen does this, but Perez rarely.
The Mexican made his debut in 2011 — four years ahead of Verstappen — and plays a bit older school. The new, heavier, touchdown effect cars are different from those before, and Pérez has been unable to adapt to the new rules. He always seems to be fighting the machine. If he starts the weekend well, he is able to see it through, but that doesn't happen often enough.
However, Verstappen has entered a new car league and is confident he can handle a car that reacts to the front end. He is always there, in any state. Pérez started the year well with two wins out of four, but since then the car has become a better fit for Verstappen. Naturally, the team will follow the path of the driver who is doing better, but Perez failed to respond to this. seems to be struggling with a car that is designed primarily for Verstappen. Photo: Shutterstock/Koen van Weel What can drivers do to get themselves on track?
Customize their driving style and try to drive in the best conditions. The team always comes to the track with the configuration that, according to their simulations, is considered the fastest. Then both riders have a chance to achieve it, usually in the first training session, perhaps with some changes depending on the plans of the team.
Most riders need slightly different things, but these machines are all built for top performance. It's just about adapting to the characteristics of the car, and Perez does not seem to be able to do this, instead he is trying to change the car to suit his driving style. As the year progressed, he became increasingly aloof, unable to adapt to the characteristics of the car.
It's not easy to adapt your driving style, especially in the limited mileage of a weather-prone race weekend, and you can get stuck in a rut. The Red Bull has a reactive front end and that probably makes things worse because the car can bite and catch you.
The team then finds out that you don't like that kind of car, so they make the front less reactive. The moment you do this, you will add hundredths, if not tenths of a second, to your final lap time. Pérez also seems to always lead RB19 to the brink — perhaps he's trying too hard to find those tenths for Verstappen. When he has to dig deeper, he either makes mistakes or wastes time. It never feels like Verstappen is on the edge.
Perez and Stroll should learn from two F1 rookies.
Liam Lawson found himself in a quandary at Zandvoort, making his debut for AlphaTauri, replacing Daniel Ricciardo in a very difficult situation. conditions — a seat he will now retain at Monza due to the Australian's broken wrist. He had a good weekend without any major mistakes because he just drove the car the way it is. Lawson wasn't about to tell his engineers, «I need two more degrees of front wing,» for example, because he wouldn't have a clue about the car. He just got down to business and went.
The same goes for Oscar Piastri at McLaren. Ricciardo fought alongside Norris for two years in a car that was said to be very difficult to drive. Piastri got in the car this year and kept up with Norris on his good weekend and not too far behind on his worst weekend. He knows he needs to learn as a beginner and has accepted the need to drive the car the way it is. Ricciardo had many years of experience with Red Bull and Renault, but McLaren was different and he never got it.
That's exactly what Stroll and Perez need to do. They must continue with the settings that the team deems best for this car and this track. It may not mean that they match Alonso and Verstappen, but the likelihood of them looking out of place every weekend will be much lower.
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