“It would have been brutal to pit ‘Checo’ and take him off the podium” – Red Bull did not ask Sergio Perez to go for the fastest lap point in Texas as that would have got Charles Leclerc into the podium.
Red Bull had a brilliant outing in the US GP, Max Verstappen winning and Sergio Perez making it to a well-deserved podium. Perez had topped the timings charts of two FP sessions and was unfortunate to miss out on pole.
He was trailing championship contenders Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton by quite a margin during the final stages, with Charles Leclerc closing down on him.
With Hamilton holding the fastest lap bonus point then, Red Bull had two options – ask Perez to pit for softs and strip Hamilton off that point, or keep him on and ensure he takes the podium and three extra points for Red Bull.
Red Bull chose the latter, and rightly so, helping them close on to Mercedes in the constructors’ battle. As for Perez, boss Christian Horner feels it would have been unjust to take him off the podium, given the outstanding form he’s in.
It would have been brutal to pit ‘Checo’ and take him off the podium.
“Leclerc was obviously too close behind. In the collective position of the team it was better for Checo to take the points, so that’s what we did.
“The way he [Perez] managed the race, you could see his confidence is growing. That’s the second race in a row he’s on the podium now.
“His home race is coming up. He’s finding his form, which is crucial for us at this time of the year.”
