Why Perez's time for excuses at Red Bull is over

The race is where it counts

This is where Perez starts to crumble. Despite his fourth-place at the Portuguese GP being the best result of any of the three drivers in their first four races, his dismal non-points finish at Imola actually means he has made a worse start to his Red Bull career than Albon.

Despite his qualifying struggles, Albon was a regular top-six finisher and registered 36 points from four races compared to Perez's 32. Gasly is comfortably behind in this category with a non-points finish and a retirement yielding just 12 points.

Even the gaps between Verstappen and his respective team-mates add to the argument Albon was able to hit the ground running faster than Perez.

It must, however, be remembered that Albon joined the team mid-season, and had to battle back from a grid penalty in his first race, which damaged his qualifying statistic.

Conversely, Verstappen suffered a similar fate at the Italian GP, something that raised Albon's finishing statistic.

Perez - The judgement call

Passing judgment on a driver after only four races in a season with a drastically reduced pre-season testing schedule may seem harsh, but this is the hand dealt to drivers this year.

In signing Perez, Red Bull invested in an experienced driver with proven capabilities of outperforming the machinery beneath him. Make no mistake about it, this was not a driver signed to come good in the second half of the year.

Yes, Sebastian Vettel, Carlos Sainz and Ricciardo have all taken time to acclimatise to their new teams this year, but none are in a car capable of winning races and none are expected to be regularly bringing home silverware - not this year at least.

Albon may have come in for a lot of criticism last year for not being the wingman Verstappen desperately needed, which was often justified, but the argument could at least be made that he was a young driver finding his feet in the sport.

Perez has no such excuse and after four races, the time for excuses is well and truly over.

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