Kitchen Talks: Horner Probes Perez's F1 Woes

Horner’s candid kitchen conversation probes into Perez’s recent struggles in Formula 1 racing.

Christian Horner, the team principal of Red Bull Racing, has disclosed that he held discussions at his home with Sergio Perez to address the Mexican driver’s alarming dip in Formula 1 performance.

Perez has experienced a string of disappointing results lately, failing to finish higher than seventh in the past six races, and struggling to place above a modest 17th at the British Grand Prix two weeks ago.

Horner recently acknowledged that Perez’s lack of points was “unsustainable” amid mounting speculation that his position within the team could be under threat, despite his recent contract renewal.

Reports suggest that should Perez remain over 100 points behind his teammate Max Verstappen by the summer break, a performance-related clause would activate, allowing Red Bull to consider a driver change.

Currently, Perez is 137 points adrift of Verstappen, with just two races remaining until the August recess. He has amassed only 15 points in the last six races.

When asked whether he had spoken to Perez about his current form, Horner, speaking in Hungary, confirmed: “Yes. We maintain a very open relationship.”

“I sat down with him in my kitchen and said, ‘Come on, what’s going on? Is there anything else troubling you?’ He replied, ‘No, I’m just overthinking things.'”

“I believe that almost ignoring what’s happening on the other side of the garage will benefit him, and that’s the approach he’s currently adopting. He’s simply focusing on his own performance.”

Horner explained that Red Bull’s decision to trigger an early contract renewal was an attempt to bolster Perez’s confidence, albeit unsuccessfully.

“We all want Checo to realize the potential he demonstrated during the first four or five races. We know he’s capable of it.”

“That’s why we took the option to extend his contract early in the year, to try to give him that reassurance. He’s been a bit dizzy in recent races. Hopefully, today is better; there were signs of improvement during Free Practice.”

“The team is working very hard with him to support him and ensure he returns to form. We desperately need that.”

Red Bull has expedited the deployment of its most significant upgrade package of the season for this weekend’s Hungarian Grand Prix.

“I think the car is performing quite well, and when it does, you see the gap closing between the two.”

“It’s been a positive Friday for him. I’d say it’s probably Checo’s best Friday since, perhaps, China. The cars are performing well. There’s a slight difference between the cars – both have improvements, and the only things missing on Checo’s are the engine cover and side pod, but the floor, wing, and the rest are the same for both. We’ve had excellent data.”

“I hope Checo gains a bit more confidence from this. The car has been, while it was performing, somewhat on the razor’s edge.”

“We’ve seen Max handle this a bit better than Checho. I hope that with the progress we’ve made here, the car will find itself in a fairly good development window.”