Christian Horner claims Sergio Perez has the toughest job in the F1 paddock

Horner lauded Perez for holding his own against the 3x World Champion despite point differences.

Christian Horner claims Sergio Perez has the toughest job in the F1 paddock

Red Bull's Team Principle Christian Horner and Sergio Perez (via IMAGO)

Sergio Perez has been suffering against Max Verstappen throughout the 2023 season, facing difficulties getting good results in the second half of the season despite having the fastest car on the grid. Perez failed to get the RB19 through to Q3 multiple times, inviting criticism.

The Mexican hasn’t always had difficulties with the Red Bull, winning races in 2022 and outstandingly defending Lewis Hamilton to assist with Verstappen’s World Championship title. However in 2023, Perez suffered even more than his Dutch partner, but RB leader Christian Horner said that the six-time race winner has done a great job in 2023, despite the gap to Max. The British Team Principal said that being Verstappen’s teammate is the hardest job on the grid, and Perez has done great alongside him.

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Being Max's partner is the hardest job in the paddock. Checo has done a great job alongside Max over the last three years. The problem is for Checo, who is trying to compare himself with Max and what he has to do is forget about him.
Christian Horner said, as reported by soymotor.com

Perez’s gap to Verstappen is currently the highest in F1 history, at 266 points. The Mexican achieved a 4th place finish at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix, a good finish for him at the track where he had a controversial moment with Verstappen in 2022. Perez has managed to fend off Hamilton for second place, though, and will try to secure the place in the upcoming Las Vegas Grand Prix. 

Hyundai Boss says Max Verstappen has ‘broken’ Sergio Perez

Max Verstappen has had the most dominant Formula One season of all time, with the Champion team of Red Bull. The Dutchman set the record for most wins in a single season at 19, and broke the record for most consecutive wins at 10 on the way. With two rounds left in the season, Verstappen could extend this dominance to achieve a near-clean sweep for Red Bull.

Sergio Perez
Sergio Perez (via Sky Sports F1)

Verstappen’s teammate Sergio Perez had a worse season with the Milton Keyes-based squad, as he only managed 2 wins and suffered through a lot of the season in the best car. Hyundai Motorsports Team Principal Cyril Abiteboul said the dominance was ‘cruel’ by Red Bull, and Verstappen has seemingly ‘broken’ Sergio Perez with the performance over his teammate.

It's amazing because they seem impervious to all variables, be it wind, temperature or ground effect. That makes their dominance even more impressive. It's cruel. Verstappen is so strong that he is able to push a driver like Sergio Pérez, who has been through a lot, to the ground and break him.
Cyril Abiteboul said, as reported by racingnews365.com

Abiteboul had a slight rivalry with Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner while still in Formula One, which ended with their departure from the sport. Hyundai now competes in the World Rally Championship, achieving some success in the field. Red Bull, meanwhile are dominating F1 by a huge margin, with more than double the points than Mercedes in second of the Constructors’ Championship.

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