Verstappen is simply faster than Perez, claims Red Bull’s chief engineer

Explaining the reasons for Sergio Perez’s current struggles with the RB20, Red Bull chief engineer Paul Monaghan said that the Mexican is simply slower than his Dutch team-mate.

Red Bull's Mexican driver Sergio Perez has been in a negative spiral in recent months, having struggled for outright pace and failed to deliver a consistent performance.

While the Milton Keynes-based outfit has let Perez try out a raft of setup options in recent months, the six-time F1 race winner is yet to find the form he displayed at the start of the current season.

Asked to elaborate on Perez’ struggles with RB20, Red Bull’s chief engineer Paul Monaghan noted that the Mexican has been simply slower than his team-mate.

“I don't want to be rude to Checo, who could very well take my head off if he were next to me, but I would say that in general Max is simply faster than him.

“The difference per corner is minimal, let's say half a tenth, but it accumulates in the lap".

Expanding on the current pecking order, Monaghan said that the team’s 2024 car, the RB20 is still a competitive car, but rivals managed to solve their own issues.

“If you look at our lap time as a yardstick, it's a competitive machine. And we had a good start to the season, which is good. It is clear that we are now a little more under pressure.

“In terms of strengths and weaknesses, I think last year I was asked what made the RB19 so strong: it had the same problems as the other cars, but smaller, and so we could get more performance.”