Subscribe

Sign up for free

  • Get quick access to your favorite articles

  • Manage alerts on breaking news and favorite drivers

  • Make your voice heard with article commenting.

Autosport Plus

Discover premium content
Subscribe

Horner: Perez can relax now F1 title pressure is off

Red Bull Formula 1 boss Christian Horner believes that Sergio Perez will benefit from reduced pressure after losing ground to team-mate Max Verstappen in the world championship battle.

Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing

Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing

Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

Perez won two of the four opening races of the 2023 season, and after his victory in the Azerbaijan GP, he was just six points behind Verstappen and touted as a potential title challenger.

The gap was extended when the Dutchman led a Red Bull 1-2 in Miami, and then the Mexican had a disastrous weekend in Monaco, crashing in Q1 and finishing well out of the points after a fraught race.

Perez again had a scrappy qualifying in Spain that saw him start only 11th, leaving him on the backfoot and recover to fourth place in the race.

Verstappen won both the Monaco and Spanish events, further extending his lead, with the gap between the Red Bull drivers now standing at 53 points.

Horner says that with a title challenge currently looking less realistic, a solid race in Barcelona will help Perez to relax.

“I think for him that'll give him a lot of confidence coming out of this,” he said. “He has had a difficult Monaco, difficult Saturday here, a stronger Sunday.

“I think that looking at the gap now between the two drivers, which is pretty significant, in many respects that will take pressure off his shoulders, and I think that'll allow him just to now relax, not put pressure on himself and just re-find the form that he had in those early races."

Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing, Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, 1st position, talk in Parc Ferme

Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing, Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, 1st position, talk in Parc Ferme

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

He added: “I think that we know what Checo is capable of. We've seen in races like Azerbaijan and Saudi already this year, what he's capable of doing. I'm sure he'll re-find that form in the near future.”

The team’s simulations had predicted that Perez could climb from 11th to fifth in Spain, and thus he exceeded expectations.

“The sim said on a clean race P5,” said Horner. “He did one better than that in P4. We felt maybe the Ferrari would have better race pace than it had.

“He was getting within a couple of seconds of the podium as well at the end there, and hunting down George [Russell].  It was a very good recovery, particularly the second half of the race, for Checo.”

Read Also:

Be part of the Autosport community

Join the conversation
Previous article Schumacher: Mercedes F1 test run will help me be even better in sim 
Next article Is F1 going to save the combustion engine from oblivion?

Top Comments

There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?

Sign up for free

  • Get quick access to your favorite articles

  • Manage alerts on breaking news and favorite drivers

  • Make your voice heard with article commenting.

Autosport Plus

Discover premium content
Subscribe