F1 News: Christian Horner Mounts Pressure On Sergio Perez - 'Have To Be Scoring Points'

Saajan Jogia | Jul 8, 2024

Jun 8, 2024; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Red Bull Racing driver Sergio Perez (MEX) in the pit lane at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. Mandatory Credit: Eric Bolte-USA TODAY Sports / Eric Bolte-USA TODAY Sports

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner emphasized that Sergio Perez must finish within the points in each race and fulfill his role and target. The team boss mounted pressure on the Mexican driver after he started the race from the pit lane after qualifying in P19 and ended up two laps behind Lewis Hamilton and teammate Max Verstappen.

Perez, currently seven points ahead of George Russell in P6 in the Drivers' Standings, has struggled recently, failing to finish in the top five in the last five Grands Prix. So far, he has been unable to secure a single race win, while Verstappen has been dominant, winning seven out of the twelve Grands Prix.

Horner acknowledged that Perez must find his form and score within points, especially considering he has only managed to collect 15 points in the last five races. Currently, the points difference between Red Bull on the top and Ferrari in P2 in the Constructors' Championship has slumped to 71.

Red Bull is increasingly concerned about this trend, especially since their rivals consistently have both drivers scoring points in each race. Horner revealed that it is becoming "unsustainable" for Perez to continue not contributing to the team's points tally. He told PlanetF1.com:

“He knows it’s unsustainable to not be scoring points, we have to be scoring points in that car and he knows that.

“He knows his role and his target and so nobody is more eager than Checo to get back and find his form again.”

Despite earning a two-year contract extension with Red Bull in June, the rumor mill has been suggesting that Perez could be replaced by Red Bull reserve driver Liam Lawson as the 22-year-old driver undergoes a test in the RB20 on Thursday. However, Horner was quick to dismiss the report. He jokingly said:

“If all of you read too much into these things, I’m actually doing a lap at Silverstone in the RB8 on Thursday as well so you never know.

“In all seriousness, the Liam aero run, it has been planned for a couple of months now."

Horner then went into the details of the race at Silverstone, explaining the gamble that cost Perez more time. He added:

“So of course, Checo, he’s under pressure. That’s normal in Formula 1 and when you’re under delivering that pressure only mounts and he’s aware of that, he knows that and this weekend, just nothing’s really gone his way.

“We took a gamble in the race. He started on a hard tyre, he was making decent progress early on in the race. The rain started to arrive, he was P15 or P16 at the time.

“You roll the dice a little at that point, as they did with [Charles] Leclerc. He went on to the inter, if the rain would have picked up he looks a hero. It didn’t so you don’t and then he had an extra stop.

“The time loss of being on an inter on a drying track was hemorrhaging a lot of time for him. So obviously, a lot to look at from over the weekend.”