Christian Horner hopes Sergio Perez takes confidence from his Hungarian GP performance and carries forward the momentum into the next races. Speaking to media including Sportskeeda, the Briton felt that the Mexican had driven his strongest race since the Chinese GP.
Sergio Perez has failed to score points for the last five races and had a downward spiral in terms of performance since the Miami GP. Out of the last five races, he has been consistently knocked out of Q1 or Q2 with Max Verstappen being the only driver in the top 5 to score points for the team. With the constructors championship under threat, it was understood that the Hungarian race and Belgium GP were the two races that could determine whether he stayed or would be swapped midseason.
Red Bull had suggested in Silverstone that they were running out of patience with the 34-year-old and needed him to be up to speed with their reigning champion. Although Sergio Perez performed well in the race, he was knocked out of Q1 in qualifying which hampered his ability to be more competitive and get a top 5 finish. Horner hopes the performance in Hungary gives him a boost to perform better in the upcoming races to help maintain the lead in both championships.
Asked if Sergio Perez had performed well enough in Hungary, Horner said:
“That was probably Checo’s strongest race since China, I would say. So yeah he should take some confidence out of today’s race. If he had qualified more in position yesterday, he would have been in a much more competitive position.”
Asked by Sportskeeda if there were any targets for Sergio Perez and how long Max Verstappen could continue to drive on the limit, Horner said:
“Look we are just going to develop the fastest car we can and thats what we continue to do. In the driver’s championship obviously Max has a good lead, but that can diminish very quickly. So nothing can be taken for granted in the constructors championship. We have 59 points lead which could diminish very quickly. So we are accurately aware of that and determined to make sure we have better points scoring weekends.”
Christian Horner believes Sergio Perez has driven a strong race in Hungary
Christian Horner felt Sergio Perez drove a strong race, aided by a good strategy to beat George Russell. He reckoned that the Mexican driver had a strong pace good enough to match the McLarens. With Max Verstappen struggling with his tire management during the race, the former Force India driver had a better race in comparison and was able to surge through the grid more smoothly.
Asked how he evaluated the performance of Sergio Perez in Hungary, Horner replied:
“Well Checo’s race actually, starting on the hard. He dropped behind Russell and then as soon as he got into bit in clear air after that first pitstop. If you look at his pace, he’s actually racing same as the McLaren. So he’s actually driven a good race today and I think the strategy with Checo, actually getting the undercut on George and going a bit earlier at that point worked for him well today. He had good pace and made some good passes. And hopefully he will take a lot of confidence out of that.”
On a day when the McLarens were running first and second and Verstappen was fifth, Red Bull would have needed Sergio Perez to be in the top five to bite into their rival’s points share. However, since Imola, the Red Bull driver has been out of the top five points-scoring finishes, with his worst performances being from Monaco to the British GP. In these races, he had two retirements, one race result outside the top 10 points scoring positions, and a highest finish of seventh place.
The Miami GP was the last race where he finished in the top five which was in fourth place. The seventh-place finish in Hungary guaranteed him six points but to defend the constructors championship and drivers championship, Red Bull will need their second driver in top form. The Belgium GP will be a litmus test for the former Racing point driver to secure his future for the current season and beyond.