“He’s really grabbing this opportunity with both hands”- Christian Horner is delighted with the hard work put in by the Mexican International.
At the turn of 2021, Red Bull decided to partner with Sergio Perez for the new calendar year, a gamble played by Perez to wait for Red Bull, as he deliberately closed all other doors for himself after Racing Point axe.
Christian Horner and Helmut Marko contemplated for days to put money on Perez, and eventually, they did. Now, it seems like Perez is giving his all to prove a point at Red Bull, as indicated by Horner’s recent statement.
“I think he’s settling in very well,” Horner told Formula1.com. “Obviously, he’s been around for a while, he’s a popular member of the paddock, and you can see why.”
“He’s an easy guy to get along with, and he’s doing all his homework. He’s been working hard over the winter. He’s really grabbing this opportunity with both hands.”
Tough to adapt to the transition
Horner then analyzed that Perez’s prolonged service with Force India/Racing Point may take some effort to understand the operations at Red Bull, and that is why the last few days for him has been invaluable.
“I think for Checo, after having driven for one team for so long, inevitably there’s going to be a lot of differences, just in the procedure, to the way we operate,” added Horner.
“So any mileage that we’ve been able to give him is of huge value as he gets to know his engineering team, how our machines work, how our meetings work, what’s required of him as a Red Bull driver. So I think it’s been invaluable these last couple of days for him.”
Perez’s biggest challenge is to remain relevant against Alex Albon, who is desperate to pounce at his former spot in the team. For that, the Mexican has to bring consistent results.
