1996 Formula 1 champion Damon Hill has claimed that Red Bull will be battling “one-legged” in a potential championship battle amid Sergio Perez’s contract renewal.
Red Bull put an end to rumours with the announcement that Perez has agreed a multi-term extension to remain alongside Max Verstappen in the team through 2026.
The Mexican’s latest Red Bull deal comes despite a recent slump in results that has seen him fail to advance to Q3 and log a pitiful four points in the past two rounds.
Perez’s recent struggles have come with the grid continuing to converge and Ferrari and McLaren providing a more sustained threat to Red Bull’s previous dominance.
Ferrari’s win through Charles Leclerc in Monaco combined with Red Bull’s woes has seen the squad’s margin in the Constructors’ Championship whittled to 24 points.
Hill contends that the consistent gap between Verstappen and Perez along with the closer competition at the sharp end will make Red Bull vulnerable in the title fight.
“Don’t forget they [Ferrari and McLaren] have both got two drivers who can attack,” Hill told the F1 Nation podcast. “I’m not sure you can say that of Checo.
“[They’re] a little bit one-legged at the moment, Red Bull, if they want to defend.
“It’s no good being three-tenths away from Verstappen anymore, because so many cars can jump in that gap. The gaps have become smaller and smaller.”
Hill’s words concurred with the view McLaren’s Lando Norris gave in Monaco last month when he argued the British outfit and Ferrari can depend on two equal drivers.
“There’s plenty of opportunities for us, and we know we still have some things coming in the future,” Norris said when asked about a possible championship contest.
“And if things turn around, then we can easily start to come back at some of the teams, you know.
“So, especially because I think we’re probably the team, along with Ferrari at least, where we have two cars up there performing at every single session and every single race in qualifying.
“So I think if you look at a lot of the grid, they don’t really have that yet, they have one guy who’s put in a mega lap and then has a good race and the other one not so much.
“So I think one of our strengths is that we’ve always had two cars up there and we can fight well along with Ferrari at the minute.”
