At the start of the 2023 season, Sergio Perez’s smile was quickly turned upside down after it was revealed to him that Max Verstappen had stolen the fastest lap from right under his nose in Saudi Arabia. While Perez should have led the championship after his victory, without the point for the fastest lap, it was Max Verstappen out ahead once again.

While many expected Sergio Perez to put up a valiant fight in return, the Dutch Lion would not be one so easily tamed. And so began his record-breaking journey as the 2023 F1 World Champion. Although the difference between Max Verstappen and his teammate was settled shortly after Miami, Red Bull‘s poster child recently dialed the pressure already mounting on Perez’s shoulders up a notch after dismissing the prospect of the Mexicans ‘equal’ start in the first four raves if 2023 being a realistic title challenge.

Max Verstappen dismisses Sergio Perez fans’ early championship hopes

Heading into last season, Sergio Perez was already in Helmut Marko’s trigger-happy clutches and was saved marginally by Christian Horner’s unwavering faith. Despite trailing Verstappen’s victory at the Bahrain season-opener by 11 seconds, it seemed fairly evident that Perez had heeded Marko’s warning and stepped it up by delivering the perfect answer to the reigning champion’s victory by sealing the top step in Saudi Arabia.

While the Mexican failed to carry that momentum into Formula 1’s trip to Albert Park, Perez would once again match his Middle Eastern shenanigans in Azerbaijan by beating Verstappen to the finish by 2.1 seconds. Although the #33 driver was ahead in the championship at that stage, Perez would be presented with the perfect opportunity to strike in Miami. After Verstappen had an incident in qualifying, the Mexican would find himself to be lonely at the top with his teammate staring down in the ninth spot.

With the points table changing sides rapidly, the F1 community could not help but favor the underdog and claim Verstappen would be in for a tough road ahead. Fast-forward to the checkered flag and Perez fans would quickly find themselves shockingly disappointed. But was it really shocking? Not for Max Verstappen, that’s for sure. In a post shared by RBR daily, Verstappen was asked about Perez’s chances at the start of the year when the pair were neck and neck for race wins.

He shared, “You have to paint the whole picture. I had to start from 15th place in Saudi Arabia. I was slightly penalized by the safety car in Baku. So from my perspective, it’s not entirely fair to talk about it being even. Because it wasn’t like that from my point of view. It was closer, but you have to take into account all the circumstances that led to it. That distorted the impression to some extent.”

On taking a closer look at the results, Verstappen rightfully points out that Perez was in fact racing under fairer circumstances. If his 15th place start in Saudi Arabia wasn’t enough to cause for concern, the fact that Verstappen managed to come back and win from 9th at a track like Miami showcased his skillset and car mastery outclassed that of his teammate.

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While it looks like Max Verstappen and Helmut Marko are reaching a consensus on Sergio Perez’s performance at Red Bull, the man intending to honor the Mexican’s contract revealed the Milton Keynes outfit’s game plan for him in 2024.

Christian Horner sticks by Perez’s side despite ample options in 2024

Heading into 2024, Christian Horner has made it clear that he’s open to any opportunities that come his way shall Sergio Perez but not perform. But the Red Bull’s loyal principal believes there’s a lot more to Sergio Perez than might meet the eye. After all, it was Perez’s unwavering resilience that set him on a path to a stint with F1’s current leaders and achieving elusive firsts at the top level of open-wheel racing.

He was quoted by the Mirror UK, “I think he has shown real mental strength to be able to cope with that. The area he needs to focus on is Saturday – making sure that his average qualifying is a lot closer to Max [Verstappen]. We need him to start further up the grid, particularly if the grid is going to converge. We can’t afford to have a lot of cars between him and Max.” Horner believes 2024 will be a major year not just for Red Bull and their championship charge but also with the F1 driver market entering silly season once more.

However, Horner dialed back the opportunity for other drivers by pointing out that he believes the Milton Keynes outfit has great homegrown talent. While the car may be favorable in the eyes of many drivers like Lewis Hamilton, Horner still feels Perez deserves his dues. He concluded while commenting on drivers offering their services for free, “There’s been a little bit of that, but there’s no guarantees of anything. Checo is our driver. If he does well, we’ll want to keep him for 2025, but it’s all about how he performs in relation to his team-mate.”

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Although the New Year has brought immense joy to future stars such as Bianca Bustamante, who is looking forward to her newfound partnership with McLaren, the case might not be the same for Sergio Perez. Will Red Bull replace Perez in such for Verstappen’s ‘equal’ or will The Mexican turn the tides in his favor?