Christian Horner reveals Sergio Perez’s major weakness in the battle against Max Verstappen

Sergio Perez’s poor run started in Miami GP when Max Verstappen triumphed over the Mexican despite starting at P9.

Christian Horner reveals Sergio Perez’s major weakness in the battle against Max Verstappen

Sergio Perez (image via Lasexta.com), Christian Horner (image via thejudge13), and Max Verstappen (image via motorsport.com)

Sergio Perez had high ambitions for the 2023 F1 season. The Mexican driver was confident of putting up a title charge against teammate Max Verstappen. However, things have not gone to plan for the 33-year-old as he trials behind the Dutchman by 69 points. Red Bull team boss Christian Horner revealed the key weakness Perez faces in this battle.

Sergio Perez finished P6 at the Canadian GP after starting outside the Top 10, while Verstappen won the race in a dominant fashion. Horner mentioned that the Mexican driver has no specific weakness compared to the two-time world champion. However, Christian Horner insisted that Checo lost out on Max regarding managing the tire temperatures.

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The Red Bull Team Principal said, “He [Perez] was struggling like others to generate tire temperature, and that, of course, is something that Max is very, very strong at with the way he drives a car.” The 49-year-old explained that Sergio lost out in the race because of a poor stint on the Hard tires, where he struggled to match the pace of the front runners before switching to mediums.

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Sergio Perez is on the back foot, reckons Christian Horner

Sergio Perez, image via Racingnews365
Sergio Perez (image via Racingnews365)

The 33-year-old has had a woeful string of performances in the last three races. Perez has failed to qualify in the top 10 in the last three rounds of the season, despite driving the fastest car on the grid. At the same time, Max Verstappen has led every single lap of these races. Christian believes that this has affected Sergio’s morale. He said, “He’s had three difficult weekends and three to four Saturdays that then puts you on the back foot for Sunday.”

Although Christian Horner was adamant that Checo would soon return to his full potential, the Briton was convinced that a good race weekend could turn the tide for the Mexican driver. The 49-year-old highlighted the need for Milton Keynes to provide continuous support to its driver to help him recover from his recent struggles.

Thus, Christian Horner believes that Sergio Perez failed to get a good result at the Canadian GP due to his poor management of tire temperatures. The 33-year-old will need to step up on his game to not only match teammate Max Verstappen but even to secure his place at Red Bull for the future. It remains to be seen if Checo can improve his results in the next few rounds of the season.

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