“He is the perfect number two” - F1 expert believes Sergio Perez thriving at Red Bull might accelerate their plans to sell AlphaTauri 

F1 expert Mark Gallagher believes Sergio Perez's success with Red Bull might act as a catalyst for the team to sell AlphaTauri. Perez's success has proven the shortcomings of the team's driver academy and might lead to a new philosophy for Red Bull.

Red Bull usually relies on its driver academy to feed young drivers into the main team. However, veteran driver Perez was brought into the team at the end of the 2020 season without being a part of the team's junior program.

The Mexican has been quite successful with the Milton-Keynes-based squad and currently sits behind his teammate Max Verstappen in the drivers' standings.

The former Racing Point driver has been successful without being a part of Red Bull's 'B' team, effectively proving that there is no need for a sister team. Gallagher believes Perez's success might accelerate the team's plans of selling AlphaTauri.

Speaking on the "GP Racing" podcast, Gallagher said:

"The driver development programme has been found wanting. There is no better example of that than the fact that they signed Sergio Perez and, as it happens, he is the perfect number two for Max in the team in many respects.

"Checo is proof of the failure of Red Bull's driver academy, because when they tried with youngsters like Pierre Gasly or Alexander Albon, they were unable to stand out."

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Sergio Perez could struggle to stay in title contention with Max Verstappen

F1 commentator Scott Mitchell-Malm believes maintaining a title challenge against teammate Max Verstappen will pose a challenge for Sergio Perez as the season progresses. Verstappen's exceptional skills were on display in Miami, where he secured victory despite starting from ninth position on the grid.

In contrast, Perez began the race in pole position but was unable to hold off the Dutchman. His Red Bull teammate, meanwhile, showcased his remarkable speed by overtaking his competitors one by one and charging to the front of the pack.

During the race, the two-time world champion demonstrated brilliance in the initial stint on hard compound tires. In the process, he overshadowed Sergio Perez's performance on the medium compound tires.

Mitchell-Malm expressed concerns about Perez's ability to keep up with Verstappen as the season unfolds, given his starting position in Miami. The British pundit also raised doubts about Perez's capacity to match Verstappen's pace in the upcoming Monaco Grand Prix.

Speaking on the Race podcast, Mitchell-Malm said about Perez's title chances:

"It's not good that he couldn't win with Verstappen starting where he did. And if you can't win in those circumstances, he will struggle to stay in title contention because Verstappen will have very few of those weekends where he is out of position and Perez is given such an opportunity."

With "Checo" having established himself as the king of Monaco, it will be interesting to watch his performance this weekend.