Red Bull rejected Perez’s request to drive pre-Barcelona spec of RB19 F1 car

According to reputable German outlet AMuS, amid his struggles in F1 2023, Perez had asked Red Bull to allow him to drive a pre-Spanish Grand Prix version of the car.

Perez’s best form in 2023 came in the opening handful of flyaway races.

The Mexican won two of the opening races, and looked set to take the lead of the drivers’ championship for the first time in his career until Max Verstappen snatched the fastest lap in Saudi Arabia.

From Miami onwards, where Perez was beaten to win by Verstappen (despite Perez starting from pole position; Verstappen in ninth), the former Force India driver’s form dipped considerably.

Perez failed to make Q3 in five consecutive events as Verstappen remained unbeaten during this period.

Even five months later, Perez’s performances haven’t improved, picking up three time penalties for track limits in Qatar.

Consequently, there’s been intense speculation about Perez’s future despite him having a contract for 2024.

Perez’s desire to drive a pre-upgraded version of the RB19 is unsurprising given his best form came earlier in the season.

However, as expected, Red Bull never entertained the idea given the cost involved and the practicalities of having two different specifications of car.

It’s not completely unusual, with Haas doing so during Romain Grosjean’s stint with the team, and they soon found out their upgrades hadn’t worked as intended when comparing the two specifications.

But given Verstappen and Red Bull’s domination in 2023, as far as the engineers are concerned, the car has got quicker but Perez has struggled to adapt.