“I’m sad to see him having the struggles “– Christian Horner is sorry to see Daniel Ricciardo struggling in McLaren but thinks will come through.
Daniel Ricciardo and Christian Horner shared a prolonged professional relationship with each other until the Australian left for Renault in 2019 amidst differences.
Since then, Ricciardo hasn’t managed to replicate his form from Red Bull, and now with McLaren, he’s been having a rough start, and Horner is sad to witness it, but also thinks that his former employee would come through.
On whether he had asked Ricciardo if he regrets exiting Red Bull, Horner said: “Not outright. When he announced he was leaving Renault, he gave me a call in the shutdown last year and I remember him saying ‘you’re probably thinking I told you so, and yeah you did!’ But that was a decision he felt he needed to make at that time.
“He’s still a great friend of the team, still a great driver. I’m sad to see him having the struggles he’s having at the moment but I’m sure he’ll come through them.”
Sergio Perez settled in smoothly
After Ricciardo’s exit, even Red Bull struggled to replace him with an ideal choice, as their two academy drivers Pierre Gasly and Alex Albon couldn’t stand up to the expectations.
“The way he’s settled in, the way he’s delivering, particularly after his victory in Bahrain last year, it would have been very tough for him not to be in Formula 1. I think he brings a dynamic in the fight we have with Mercedes that’s starting to pay dividends.
“You saw that in the French Grand Prix and also Azerbaijan, getting his first victory, so he’s absolutely delivering,” he concluded. Perez is now heading onto grab his extended stay in Red Bull, as he is just below Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton in the championship table, which is enough for Red Bull.
