Three weeks after the meeting that decided the fate and present of Sergio Perez in Formula 1, Christian Horner has spoken for the first time officially about his choice to continue the season with the Mexican driver, despite having fallen into a spiral for the second consecutive year from which he seems to have no way out.
If Red Bull could afford to race with almost only one driver last season, the result of an RB19 so dominant that it could call the shots for the entire 2023 season, this year the situation is very different. McLaren and Mercedes have reached the performance of the RB20s and, at times, have done better. The Constructors’ Championship is in danger, but the Red Bull team principal has given a key to understanding the reasons that led the Milton Keynes team to confirm the Mexican ex Racing Point again.
“We know what Checo is capable of. We know that at the beginning of the year he had four podiums in five races. And if we can get him back to that form… I think he had a lack of confidence and ended up in a bit of a spiral.”
“We have the two best drivers that we think we can have in the RB20s, so we have all the data from all the drivers. We have all the information we need and if we felt there was something better, we would have made changes already.”
“We believe that the car we have is capable of defending the titles we won last year. We were first and second in 2023, we were first and third in 2022. And of course we won in 2021 too.”
In short, Perez is in his place because of the performances… of others. With these words, Horner underlined how both Yuki Tsunoda and Daniel Ricciardo were not considered adequate enough to replace Perez. In reality, the Japanese driver in particular seemed to have all the credentials to threaten Perez. Ricciardo recovered in the summer after a forgettable start to the season and seemed to be the one chosen to take Perez’s place.
What saved Checo were the sponsors, the money that comes into the Red Bull coffers from those who support his career. The team will never admit it, but according to information gathered by Motorsport.com, the main reason why Sergio is still employed by Horner is precisely this.
“I think Checo had some time to reset. Hopefully during the summer break he did that. We know there are tracks where he has won, like Azerbaijan, where he won both the Sprint and the Grand Prix in the same weekend.”
“Then he won another fantastic race in Singapore the year before against Leclerc, he did it in mixed conditions. He was also very quick in Monza. Zandvoort is not his favourite track. So, of the four races that await him before the next mini break, I would say the Dutch Grand Prix is the most challenging,” Horner continued.
The Red Bull team principal then wanted to quell rumours about the potential – and real… – influence that the promoters of the Mexican Grand Prix may have had in confirming Perez at Red Bull.
“It’s not a question of his home Grand Prix in Mexico, he’s not staying for that. It’s a question of performance. We believe we have two drivers who we feel are more capable of giving us the best results. If there were any doubts, we would have changed them.”
“Being a driver is a high-pressure job and all drivers know that, because they have to get results. And that’s Formula 1 at the top and bottom of the grid. We know what Perez is capable of.”
“We know what he’s capable of doing. We just need to get him back into that window where he’s at his best and we’re doing our best to give him a car that gives him confidence.”
“It’s easy to condemn Sergio. We are doing our best to give him a chance to get back to form. He has to deal with all the pressure from the media and social media that is building up behind all this. He is a rider who can bounce back and we give him all our support. We want to see him react,” Horner concluded.
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