Horner’s Warning: Pérez’s Seat Safe… But for How Long?

Christian Horner questions Pérez’s form, leaving doubts about his future, while scrutiny intensifies on his engineer’s performance.

Sergio Pérez had hoped to contest his home Grand Prix in a different atmosphere. In Mexico, speculation is once again rife regarding his potential (or probable?) replacement next year by Liam Lawson. It must be said that Checo’s performances, aside from the early races and Baku, have been rather dismal.

The Red Bull driver himself described his season as “terrible.”

Would Christian Horner, his boss at Milton Keynes, use the same term? The team principal’s candid response hardly offers reassurance about Sergio Pérez’s future.

“Sergio summed it up perfectly. It’s been a bad year for him,” said Christian Horner.

“He started well but has struggled to maintain his form almost since Imola, in a sporadic way. We’ve seen flashes of performance, such as in Azerbaijan, where he nearly could have won. We know what he’s capable of, and we hope we can provide him with the setup and confidence in the car to extract that known level of performance.”

This raises a pertinent question: should a driver with “terrible” performances be sidelined for 2025?

“Checo is our driver, he’s under contract for 2025. He’s competitive, determined, and far from satisfied with his current situation,” clarified Christian Horner.

“As a team, we’re doing our utmost to support him. This weekend is huge for him here, with incredible support. I think he’s featured on every product this weekend, from Uber Eats to toilet paper. It’s extraordinary.”

Sergio Pérez’s race engineer, Hugh Bird, has also faced criticism. Does Christian Horner believe Bird’s work has fallen short?

“As a race engineer, you become the voice that communicates with the driver. Today, with digital media, everyone has an opinion. Hugh does an outstanding job. He’s exceptionally talented, having grown within the team, and he gives everything for the driver and the team. It’s harsh to judge him from the outside, knowing only a fraction of the facts. By opening up the behind-the-scenes of F1, we’ve allowed public access, but also a flood of ‘armchair experts.’ Hugh Bird is a highly talented engineer and a cornerstone of our team; any criticism directed at him is unjust.”

And meanwhile, Lawson continues to impress…

While Sergio Pérez struggles, Liam Lawson dazzled the crowd in Austin: starting from the pit lane, he finished in the points, well ahead of Yuki Tsunoda.

“I am very impressed,” confirms Horner.

“Jumping into the car on a circuit he didn’t know, with the pressure to perform immediately during a Sprint weekend, was already a feat. To come back from the rear of the field to finish ninth and score points in his first season—he did a fantastic job.”

And in a Red Bull? Could Lawson not be aiming for regular podium finishes, according to Christian Horner?

“It’s difficult to speculate. We know he’s talented. We’ve already seen glimpses of his abilities during tyre tests. He continues to develop and improve. It will be interesting to see how he performs over the last five races.”

According to Helmut Marko, Christian Horner’s close (or not so close) ally, Red Bull will make a decision at the end of the year. These final five Grands Prix serve as an assessment period for both Lawson and Pérez.

Can Christian Horner confirm this timeline?

“As I mentioned earlier, Checo is under contract for next year, so he is currently our driver for 2025.”

Notably, there’s that word—’currently’…

“Obviously, there is a seat available at RB F1, and at RB F1 they are all Red Bull Racing drivers on loan. We therefore have the luxury of time to discuss with Laurent and Peter (Laurent Mekies and Peter Bayer) and explore all options.”