Christian Horner claims Sergio Perez ‘knows his targets’ over ‘unsustainable’ results for Red Bull

Red Bull began the season with car leagues ahead of the field. The team claimed three 1-2 finishes in the first four races. However, this soon changed as Sergio Perez dropped behind his world champion teammate. This saw the Mexican struggling to stay inside the fringes of points while Max Verstappen battled for wins. Amid the threat of a title fight brewing, Red Bull supremo, Christian Horner has admitted that Perez’s form is unsustainable for the team.

Sergio Perez joined Red Bull in 2021 after an impressive 2020 season that saw him claim his maiden F1 win. He battled aggressively in the following two seasons and helped Max Verstappen in his championship challenge. On the other hand, this form started to drop off by mid-2023, but he salvaged the runners-up spot in the driver’s championship by the final few races.

However, this changed in the ongoing season as ever since Miami, the 34-year-old has never finished in the top five. Moreover, he has scored fewer points in the last six races in comparison to Haas driver, Nico Hulkenberg.

Checo[Sergio Perez] knows it’s unsustainable to not be scoring points. We have to be scoring points in that car, and he knows that. He knows his role and his target. Nobody is more eager than Checo to get back and find his form again.

Christian Horner said in an interview with Crash

Witnessing this slump, Christian Horner acknowledged that Perez’s form was unsustainable. Furthermore, he claimed that even the latter knows the importance of scoring points, and he knows the target that he needs to achieve as Red Bull finds itself tangled in a four-way battle for the top positions.

Does Christian Horner regret giving a contract extension to Sergio Perez?

During the Monaco GP weekend, the former six-time race winner was given a multi-year extension with the team. Moreover, this extension was given in between a rough patch of performance with the hopes of giving him motivation, but, it has unfortunately backfired on them.

Despite Perez’s subpar form, Horner defended his decision.

It made absolute sense to sign Sergio[Perez] at that point in time. This is a business where there’s pressure to deliver. Sergio’s had a tough spell and his first five races were very competitive. It’s the last five he have been nowhere.

Christian Horner said in an interview as quoted by TheJudge13

The Brit claimed that it made sense to give the 34-year-old an extension when they had initially agreed to. He then asserted that this form has been a recent phenomenon, he pointed out Perez’s first few races and showed faith in him.

Despite Horner rejecting that he has made a blunder, he has not discarded the possibility of other drivers joining Milton Keynes. Thus, the Mexican has a target on his back to save his dwindling F1 career.

In case you missed it:

• Christian Horner claims Red Bull ‘baffled’ by McLaren’s call to put Lando Norris on softs at British GP 
• Toto Wolff claims he helped Lewis Hamilton when the F1 champion was ‘doubting’ himself

Stay Updated!

Join our newsletter to receive exclusive updates and curated insights directly to your inbox.

Subscribe NOW