Red Bull team principal Christian Horner is seemingly getting increasingly frustrated as Sergio Perez continues to underperform compared to Max Verstappen. While the Dutchman dominated this past weekend’s Qatar Grand Prix from start to finish, the Mexican only managed to finish tenth from a pitlane start. The 33-year-old made several mistakes during the race that resulted in him receiving three five-second penalties for exceeding track limits on a total of six occasions. As Perez continues to struggle, Horner has made certain remarks to Motorsport, that suggest that Red Bull is missing someone like Daniel Ricciardo.
Red Bull has had several drivers team up with Verstappen over the past few seasons, but no one has come even close to matching the 26-year-old. The only driver who came close to matching the three-time champion was Ricciardo when Verstappen had just joined the side in 2016 by replacing Daniil Kvyat.
In their two years as teammates, there was little separating Ricciardo and Verstappen. While both drivers managed three wins each, it was the Australian who registered more podium finishes. The 34-year-old managed 18 podiums as compared to the Dutchman’s 11.
However, Verstappen did manage to outqualify Ricciardo on one more occasion. Since no driver has come close to matching Verstappen ever since Ricciardo left the team at the end of the 2018 season, Horner seems to be missing this driver line-up.
Horner believes Red Bull no longer have a strong driver line-up
Following Sergio Perez’s struggles at the Qatar Grand Prix this past weekend, the interviewer asked Christian Horner if there were concerns at Red Bull about carrying a mismatched driver into the 2024 season. In reply, the Briton explained how his side cannot afford to continue with the Mexican next year if he does not overcome his current struggles.
As quoted by motorsport.com, the 49-year-old said, “We can’t afford to have a big split because if, as you would expect, the grid continues to concertina next year, we need both drivers delivering at the top of the game“. After stating the same, Horner added that Perez definitely needs to finish second in the championship this season considering the car that Red Bull have produced.
A weekend where nothing worked out for us, first of all I want to thank my entire @redbullracing team very much for getting my car ready on time, we have the best mechanics in the world.
Let’s think about the closing, there are still 5 very important races left and we are going… pic.twitter.com/UOT0PCkqlQ
— Sergio Pérez (@SChecoPerez) October 8, 2023
Thus, since Perez is also struggling to finish second at this point, Horner believes that Red Bull no longer have a stronger driver line-up. “You can see Mercedes have a pair, McLaren have a pair, Ferrari have a pair that are quite tight between the respective drivers. I think we’ve had that at the earlier point in the year. But as the season has gone on it’s become more variant. We just need to get Checo back to the best form that he’s capable of,” explained Horner.
Since the 49-year-old has now criticized Perez directly, there is a change of attitude in his approach. Horner had previously always explained how the Mexican is a driver who needs an arm around his shoulder when things do not go his way.
Christian Horner has seemingly changed his approach with Sergio Perez
Since Sergio Perez continues to struggle this season, Christian Horner seems to have now lost his patience with him. Initially, the 49-year-old had always supported the former Racing Point driver even in touch situations, unlike his counterpart, Helmut Marko.
Previously, Horner had explained how Red Bull just needs to support Perez to ensure that he finishes second in the championship. “We just need to support him as a team and try and do the best to get the most out of him and make sure he finishes in that second place in the championship,” explained Horner while speaking to the media ahead of the Qatar GP.
As things stand in the championship, Perez is currently second and has a 30-point lead over third-placed Lewis Hamilton. Even though the Guadalajara-born driver is still second, the frustrating part for Red Bull has been that he failed to extend his lead significantly after Hamilton crashed out at the Qatar GP this past weekend.
