Red Bull’s Christian Horner believes Sergio Perez’s poor performance at the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix was an isolated incident and remains confident in the driver’s capabilities.
Horner is confident that Sergio Perez’s poor weekend at the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix was merely “an isolated incident.”
Perez had a tough weekend in Imola, crashing during the final practice session and failing to reach Q3, qualifying a modest 11th on the grid.
In Sunday’s Grand Prix, the Mexican driver could only climb to eighth place, being beaten by both Mercedes drivers. He made another mistake, going wide mid-race.
However, Horner insisted he is not worried about Perez’s mediocre weekend.
“Our simulations before the race suggested seventh place was potentially optimal, and nothing happened—no safety car or anything like that—to aid him.”
“He had a trip through the gravel which cost him about six seconds. But I think that was pretty much the maximum he could extract from that grid position.”
Perez has now slipped to third in the World Championship standings, six points behind Charles Leclerc.
When asked if this gave Red Bull flashbacks to his struggles in 2023, Horner responded, “I think it’s just an isolated incident. He’s always performed well in Monaco, so we’ll see there.”
While Horner acknowledged it’s a crucial time for Perez to perform as he seeks to retain his Red Bull seat for next season, he stressed that the Mexican’s strong start to the year should not cause concern.
“It’s a 24-race calendar. He’s had an excellent start to the year. His approach has been very good. He’s changed his approach a bit this year, and the race result was dictated by the qualifying the day before.”
Perez has made it clear he wants his future resolved in the coming weeks, but Horner insisted that Red Bull is not setting a specific timeline for finalizing its driver lineup for 2025.
“The whole driver market is evolving, and we know exactly where we stand and what our options are. When it suits us, we will make decisions about the future.”
“If we decide to continue with Checo, as he’s always been a straightforward guy to manage, I wouldn’t expect it to be a problem to reach an agreement.”
Horner Defends Perez’s Imola Form as Isolated Incident. Horner Defends Perez’s Imola Form as Isolated Incident
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