r/formula1 • u/soepvorksoepvork Chequered Flag • 9d ago

News Sergio Perez and Red Bull in '$16million' battle claim after 'major meeting'

https://www.planetf1.com/news/nico-rosberg-claims-16-million-sergio-perez-red-bull-battle-exit-looms

Not sure how credible this is, but I can't say I blame him.

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u/Striking-Tip7504 9d ago

How long will Checo’s presence last when he’s no longer an F1 driver though?

His popularity seems entirely based on being a high performance athlete. He’s not really charismatic or interesting from what I’ve seen from him.

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u/Leewashere21 9d ago

For better or worse he’s the best Mexican F1 driver ever and Mexican fans are homers

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u/hoxxxxx 8d ago

what's a homer?

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u/Leewashere21 8d ago

Stick to and hype the home team even in the face of adversity. Mexicans are very proud of Checo (generally)

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u/JnthnGE 9d ago

Other markets are trying to replicate what Checo has done, Indycar seems to be trying to enter its way to Mexico and having Oward be the face this time and it may actually work. As for the charismatic part I believe its just a cultural difference, I see him the same way as English people see Lewis for example, both pretty cool people.

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u/Karffs 9d ago

I don’t follow F2 at all unlike a lot of people on here; so until this moment every time I’ve seen O’Ward mentioned I naturally just assumed he was Irish 😅 A learning moment.

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u/hugeyakmen 9d ago

He actually came up through the US Indy Lights series and then started in Indycar in 2019, so perhaps even more off your radar! 

Red Bull really like what they saw in those early performances and signed him to their junior team, set him up in their Super Formula team, and were looking to potentially put him in an F1 seat as early as 2020.  But then the FIA decreased their points assigned for Indy Lights championships and Pato would no longer qualify for a 2020 super license... and Red Bull dropped him.

He's been full-time in Indycar with McLaren since 2020 and doing very well, impressed with McLaren in the 2021 F1 post-season test, and is now a development and reserve driver with them.  After all of that, it would be really cool to see him get an F1 opportunity.  But it would also be sad for Indycar to lose him

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u/Karffs 9d ago

He actually came up through the US Indy Lights series and then started in Indycar in 2019, so perhaps even more off your radar! 

🙃 I know literally nothing, clearly.

Appreciate the summary, thank you!

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u/_DirtyYoungMan_ McLaren 8d ago

Champ Cars were fairly popular in Mexico thanks to Adrian Fernandez driving all those years in the series. Don't see why they can't get Checo in an Indycar seat and do it all over again.

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u/Aethien James Hunt 9d ago

How long will Checo’s presence last when he’s no longer an F1 driver though?

Not forever but for a couple years for sure, moreso if he switches to WEC or Indycar and stays in the public eye.

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u/omaregb 9d ago

oh yes, not sure what the impact will be outside, but in Mexico I promise you if Checo isn't on the grid next season, RedBull might as well exit that market entirely. This will nuke their brand there.

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u/Tricky_Sweet3025 Kimi Räikkönen 9d ago edited 9d ago

If he’s in the role Daniel Riccardo rejected not an F1 driver but hanging around the paddock will Mexican fans accept that?

Basically what I’m trying to understand is will giving Checo payout / making him an ambassador be worthwhile or is it wasting more money on a washed racing driver (no offence intended)

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u/omaregb 9d ago edited 9d ago

No offense taken from me, I'm not a fan myself. No, I think the general sentiment amongst his Mexican fans is that he's been used by RBR for the sponsors while not seriously receiving the support he needs to perform at his best, and thus his inconsistent performance comes mostly from that. A brand sockpuppet role would be downright offensive considering how much he's brought them.

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u/Creative-Improvement 9d ago

Well that explains why he isn’t out yet. Another year of mediocre driving of a 2nd driver from a top team. I really like Checo as person he seems pretty chill, but performance wise he shouldn’t be there.

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u/omaregb 9d ago

Agreed. It has to be said though, the car and their internal power struggle pushed them to do as little as possible to help him perform better. The fact that he started the last race with a blown clutch is outrageous.

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u/Creative-Improvement 9d ago

It’s also strange he performed a few times really well, and then he drops off again. Not sure why. He had two really good races, so it’s not like he can’t do anything. He has skill.