Christian Horner Defends Sergio Perez Amidst Recent Marko Criticism at Red Bull F1

The moment Sergio Perez clinched his first Red Bull F1 race win at Baku, it looked like he could extend his stay with the team well beyond 2021. However, since then, it has been a dramatic downfall of performances for the Mexican, which led to concerns over his future.

And Red Bull advisor, Dr. Helmut Marko’s recent comments only made things worse, as he affirmed Perez was not meeting the team’s demands.

However, only days after the Austrian’s remarks, Christian Horner is quite convinced with Perez’s on-track show this season.

What did the Red Bull boss say?

As reported by Motorsport, Horner continued to back Red Bull’s decision to hunt for a driver outside of their programme.

“Our view has always been to give youth the chance and I think Red Bull, more than any other team, has done that,” he said. “But occasionally, you need to step out of the programme.

“I think it was a brave decision to do that, but I think it was the right decision. The dynamic in the team is working well,” Horner added.

Perez is still working to understand the massively complicated Red Bull, which has been pretty much suited to Max Verstappen’s style. That explains why fairly inexperienced drivers like Alex Albon and Pierre Gasly have had a problematic phase with Red Bull.

Read More: Marko on Verstappen’s Red Bull F1 Partner: Perez Not Guaranteed & Announcement at Spa

Sergio Perez has delivered the role we’d hoped for: Horner

The British team principal reckoned that Perez has met all of Red Bull’s demands, and lauded the Mexican for abiding to work as a team player.

“I think Sergio has delivered the role that we’ve been hoping for,” he said. “You saw that in Baku when he picked up a victory on the day that he was able to put Lewis under pressure.

“He’s been collecting those constructors’ points, and playing the team game, as we saw at the French GP. He’s a great team player and we’re very happy with the job he’s doing.”

Overall, it looks like Perez will continue to race for Red Bull over the next season as well. Although it might have something to do with Perez’s performances, the team simply are left without many options to choose from even if they yearn for a replacement.

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