“Checo Would Have Won Another 4 or 5 Races”: Christian Horner’s Comments Reveal Max Verstappen Is Bane to Sergio Perez’s Career

Max Verstappen has had a dominant start to the 2023 season winning 11 of the 13 races so far, including the last nine in a row. Since the Dutchman has been so dominant, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner believes that he is a bane to Sergio Perez’s career. The Briton stated in a recent interview with PrimeF1 that Perez, who has just two victories so far, would have easily won a few more races had it not been for Verstappen.

The Mexican’s underperformance in comparison to the two-time champion is clear as he trails by a whopping 138 points in the championship. The most important thing that has separated the two so far is consistency.

While Perez has had a few strong races, there was also a period in which he failed to qualify for Q3 for five races in a row. In stark contrast, Verstappen has been maximizing the full potential of the Red Bull week in and week out.

Even at the most recent race weekend in Zandvoort, the Dutchman won his home race by a comfortable 3.7-second margin from second-placed Fernando Alonso. On the other hand, Perez had to settle for fourth after receiving a five-second penalty for speeding in the pit lane.

Even though the 33-year-old has made such mistakes on several occasions, Horner believes he is doing a decent job. The 49-year-old believes that there is no point in comparing the former Racing Point driver to Verstappen, who is currently in a league of his won.

Christian Horner reveals he is satisfied with Sergio Perez

In his most recent interview with Prime F1, Christian Horner confirmed that Sergio Perez will continue to drive for Red Bull in the 2024 season. The 49-year-old stated that the Mexican has a contract with the team and is living up to what the side expects of him.

“He (Perez) is second in the world championship. He is the only driver besides Max who has won Grands Prix this year. If Max wasn’t there, Checo would have won another 4 or 5 races. So you’re doing your job. And hopefully he can add more victories before the end of the year,” Horner explained.

After stating the same, Horner concluded by heaping praise on Verstappen by referring to him as the only driver who is capable of putting in such strong performances on a consistent basis. It is pertinent to note that Horner is not the only individual who holds Verstappen in such high regard as Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff also had similar praises for the 25-year-old.

Toto Wolff explains how Max Verstappen has destroyed every teammate

Even though Toto Wolff cannot understand the huge difference in the level of Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez’s performances, he has praised the two-time world champion for what he has been able to accomplish. The Austrian believes that the 25-year-old has a habit of destroying his teammates.

In an interview with The Race, Wolff said, “I mean, we’ve seen Max has destroyed every single team-mate that was with him. Whether it’s his ability to create a car around himself that is just very tricky to control — but fast if you can [control it] — and that makes those gaps“.

However, the Mercedes team principal did raise serious concerns about the astonishing gap between the two Red Bull teammates. He claimed that “Checo is not an idiot” for having such a huge gap to Verstappen.

The Dutchman has been so dominant this season that he can also win the Constructors’ Championship alone. He has scored a whopping 339 points so far while second-placed Mercedes has just been able to manage 255 points after the first 13 races.

Despite such a huge difference in the level of Verstappen and Perez, the latter seems to have his seat secure. Hence, had it not been for the 25-year-old’s prowess, the former Racing Point driver may have faced the axe by now.