Sergio Perez warned that his contract is equivalent to a “toilet paper” by racing legend

Dutch racing legend Tom Coronel mentioned that Sergio Perez's contract with Red Bull until the end of the 2024 season is equivalent to 'toilet paper'.

The Mexican driver has been under massive pressure since the midpoint of the first half of the season after his early title ambitions faded away to teammate Max Verstappen. There have been many claims that Sergio Perez might get replaced by Daniel Ricciardo next season despite having a contract for the 2024 season.

However, speaking with RacingNews365, Coronel said:

"In all of Formula 1, a contract is toilet paper. The most money is made at the time when contracts are dissolved, you've seen that before with drivers. 'Shall we say goodbye now? Okay, so then it costs 20 million extra', but then you can move on."

He added:

"We all know what will happen to Perez. Come on, we know that. It's very clear. Marko is looking for a very strong second driver. Ricciardo was Verstappen's best teammate ever, so that's what they're looking for. Perez just doesn't have the consistency. A sub-topper, nothing wrong with that. But you're looking for a Ricciardo, who beat Sebastian Vettel [when the two were Red Bull teammates in 2014].

F1 commentator on Sergio Perez is at his best in Red Bull

Sky Sports commentator David Croft revealed that Sergio Perez has been at his best in Red Bull when he accepted the role of the number two driver.

While appearing on the Sky F1 podcast, Croft said:

“I tend to, and rarely I ever say this, I tend to agree with Helmut Marko on this one, whereby Sergio’s trouble started when he thought he could be a World Champion. He thought he could win the World Championship and in Miami, he was six points off Max and starting on pole, and I think that broke him a little bit. Then the very next time in Monaco where he crashed in Q1 absolutely broke Checo."

He added:

“I think if he returns after the summer break, I’m no psychologist, but I think if he returns after the summer break happy to accept that he’s playing second fiddle to Max, happy to accept that second is what Red Bull need him to do, happy to accept that’s a good place to be and better than 18 other drivers on the grid, Checo will be absolutely fine.”

It will be fascinating to see which version of Sergio Perez shows up in the second half of the season as his title challenge is almost over as he is 125 points behind Max Verstappen.