Christian Horner claims Red Bull ‘thought’ contract extension will ‘help’ Sergio Perez improve in 2024

Christian Horner revealed the reason for extending Sergio Perez's contract mid-way through the 2024 season.

Christian Horner claims Red Bull ‘thought’ contract extension will ‘help’ Sergio Perez improve in 2024

Sergio Perez and Christian Horner (via IMAGO)

Sergio Perez’s performance has declined as the races have proceeded further. He started the season performing well, but since the Monaco GP, his performance has been going down. Despite this Red Bull decided to extend Checo’s contract during the Canadian GP to motivate him to perform well.

Team principal Christian Horner was questioned about Sergio Perez’s drop in performance. He mentioned Red Bull extended Perez’s contract to support him at his downfall, which will motivate him to perform. He mentioned that despite this the Mexican is facing challenges and is aware of the high standard set by his teammate Max Verstappen. There are even rumors of Checo getting replaced by Daniel Ricciardo if his performances don’t improve. Horner clearly stated, The 34-year-old knows he’s been measured with the best driver and he needs to perform close to him or like him to continue further with the team.

We thought the contract would help [Checo]. It's something Checo is working very hard on, and he knows. Look, this is a sport where there is no hiding. Particularly with Max Verstappen as your teammate, he knows he's being measured against the very best.
Christian Horner said
YouTube video

Horner highlighted the importance of Sergio Perez’s performance in supporting Verstappen within the Red Bull Racing team. He pointed out that in the competitive landscape of Formula 1, teams like McLaren, Ferrari, and Mercedes each have two strong drivers. For Red Bull to maximize their chances of success in Constructors’ Championship they need both Verstappen and Perez to consistently perform at a higher level. This would ensure that Red Bull can effectively compete against other top teams who have strong drivers.

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We need him up there, supporting Max. There's two McLaren's, two Ferrari's, two Mercedes' and we desperately need two Red Bulls.
Christian Horner stated

Sergio Perez is optimistic about a good setup at the British GP

Sergio Perez claimed optimism about a good setup as he faced challenges at Silverstone during FP2. He mentioned that rapidly changing weather conditions pose a challenge because they could mislead teams into making incorrect decisions. Checo mentioned its crucial to be careful and make smart changes to the car. This can help the car to perform at it’s best in different situations during the race weekend.

It can very easily lead you to the wrong decisions, especially in a track like this when conditions are changing so much, so we just have to be careful in that.
Sergio Perez said, as reported by formula1.com
Sergio Perez
Sergio Perez (Via: Imago)

Further, Perez expected it to rain in the morning however it didn’t. Despite that he praised, Isack Hadjar who drives in F2 for Red Bull. Hadjar secured pole position at Silverstone so the Mexican appreciated him. Additionally, Checo thought there’s a good potential for Red Bull on Sunday. He expressed confidence about their chances , even though the weather didn’t turned out as expected.

We thought it was going to be wet this morning but it wasn’t. Anyway, Hadjar did a very good job for the team. Yeah, I think there should be some nice potential for us later
Sergio Perez added

Certainly, Perez is confident about their performance in the main event despite facing challenges. He hopes Red Bull might fix them at priority to expect a better outcome. Fans are hoping for a good performance from both the Red Bull drivers as last weekend’s race was not in their favor.

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