In a Qatar Grand Prix led practically from start to finish by the new world champion Verstappen, teammate Perez climbed up to tenth place after starting from the pitlane, but only after collecting three five-second penalties for exceeding track limits on six occasions.
Amid Perez’s ongoing difficulties, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said his driver needs to sit down and “get back to basics” to regain his self-confidence ahead of the tripleheader in the United States, Mexico and the Brazilian GP.
For the moment, however, he believes that Red Bull has lost a pairing of drivers comparable to that of the McLaren, Ferrari and Mercedes teams, on which it could instead count at the start of the season.
“I think with a car like ours, it’s probably putting itself under pressure,” Horner said. “The most important thing for us was to win both championships (drivers and teams). And we did it.”
“And then, the best thing would be to have both drivers in first and second place. Mercedes has a strong pair of drivers, McLaren equally, Ferrari has a very close pair of drivers.”
“I think this happened to us too at the beginning of the year. But as the season went on it became more complicated. We just need to get Checo back to the best form he is capable of.”
Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Horner believes that it is Perez’s mental condition, rather than physical, that is currently holding him back, even if the Mexican is working with a mental coach.
When asked if he was concerned about bringing a mismatched driver duo into next year, with Perez under contract for 2024, Horner added: “The frustration is that we know what Checo has been capable of doing.”
“Of course, last year and this year he contributed significantly to the constructors’ championship. We desperately want him to regain his form and as a team we need that.”
“We cannot afford this big difference because if, as expected, next year the grid continues to narrow in terms of values, we need both drivers to be at the top.”
Horner reiterated that Red Bull will “give all possible support” to help Perez, although there are rumors that the team could change its driver line-up early next year.
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