Christian Horner Ironically Mocks Sergio Perez While Lauding His “Mental Resilience”

When Sergio Perez signed with Red Bull Racing for the 2021 season, the Mexican fans rejoiced at the well-deserved opportunity that Perez had finally gotten, after persevering for years with mediocre teams. Touted by many to be the man who saved the jobs of his old team at Force India after bringing in Lawrence Stroll as an owner, the Mexican Minister of Defense, alongside Max Verstappen, was considered to be a formidable force for the opposition.

However, he lost out to Charles Leclerc in the 2022 driver’s standings, finishing third behind the Monegasque when the checkered flag came out in Abu Dhabi. The pressure was on for 2023, with a solid expectation of Perez finishing second in the championship. Unfortunately for the Mexican, it hasn’t been smooth sailing!

While Saturdays are not for Sergio Perez, he is an ‘absolute racer’ according to Christian Horner

Whilst the combination of RB19 and Max Verstappen has been Red Bull’s trump card, Sergio Perez has been struggling to keep up with the Dutch Lion. Owing to a string of errors and unfortunate incidents, the points gap between Verstappen and Perez is so drastic that even if we removed half of the three-time champions’ points. He would still be well ahead of Perez in the standings.

Red Bull TP Christian Horner recently spoke to Dax Shepard from the Eff Won with DRS podcast on Perez’s performances. The Milton Keynes boss praised the Mexican for the resilience and discipline he’s built on after all his years in the sport, “It’s tough and it’s such a judgmental sport that you’re as good as your last race in
in so many respects and I think that, you know, Checo bought a bunch of experience and he said look, he’s a tough, tough operator, he’s got mental resilience.”

Sergio Perez had featured in 190 races before his first win came at the 2020 Sakhir GP, breaking Mark Webber’s record of taking his first win with Red Bull after 130 race starts. Whilst Perez did this in a Racing Point, it was surely the reason behind the Milton Keynes outfit signing the Mexican. Horner’s appreciation of Perez was backed by Shepherd, “He’s the last person other than Max I want to try to pass.” – reflecting Hamilton’s thinking during the 2021 Abu Dhabi finale, when Perez delivered a defensive masterclass to help Verstappen catch up to his rival, the exact reason he was hired.

READ MORE: Christian Horner Decodes How Max Verstappen Forced Sergio Perez’s “Demoralizing” Downfall

However, Christian Horner went on to take a subtle shot at the Mexican’s qualifying performances, where he’s consistently failed to put the RB19 next to Verstappen, Horner had a simple explanation, “He’s a racer, he’s not a qualifier but he’s an absolute racer” – the Milton Keynes boss was critical of Perez’s shortcomings during Saturday, which have become a common occurrence, ironically mocking his qualifying pace whilst praising the driver’s race craft.

Is Max Verstappen the reason behind Perez’s woeful performance?

Speaking about race craft, Sergio Perez showed us exactly why he’s in the Red Bull seat at the 2023 Brazilian Grand Prix, after delivering a brilliant battle with the two-time world champion, Fernando Alonso. Although the Mexican lost out to Alonso’s AMR23, it was by the closest of margins! And this is one of the reasons why Perez is in such an awkward position with his future at Red Bull.

When Sergio Perez does not compare himself to Max Verstappen, the Mexican is a brilliant driver on his merit. However, the experienced driver has fallen victim to the rising pressure that comes with being Verstappen’s teammate. Horner was vocal about Checo’s main issues, “And I think the problem is for Checo (that) he’s trying to compare himself to Max and what he needs to do is forget about Max and just focus on himself.”

Christian Horner thinks that Sergio Perez would be better off focusing on maximizing his results, which in turn would ease the internal pressure. He added, “Don’t even look at his data, don’t even look at it, just focus on being the best you can be.” Whilst the boss had called out Perez on his poor qualifying performances, he thinks the solution is much more internal than practicing for hours on the simulator.

WATCH THIS STORY: Will Daniel Ricciardo Get Swapped in for Sergio Perez at Red Bull?

It’s safe to say that Sergio Perez has eased some of the pressure after a solid outing at the Brazilian GP. However, it remains to be seen if he will rise up against, or succumb to, the dominance of Max Verstappen in 2024. Stay tuned to find out!