Red Bull boss Christian Horner at odds with Max Verstappen over Sergio Perez verdict
The Red Bull team principal shared a contrasting viewpoint to Max Verstappen regarding Sergio Perez.
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Red Bull boss Christian Horner has disagreed with Max Verstappen's viewpoint over whether Sergio Perez can be a title contender. Red Bull dominated 2022 as the Dutchman ran away with the title, as nearest rival Charles Leclerc was a mammoth 146 points adrift while the gap to team-mate Perez was 149.
Looking ahead to 2023 season, last week the Dutchman failed to mention his team-mate when mentioning some drivers he feels are capable of fighting for the Formula 1 title if given a competitive car.
Horner, who was surprised Perez’s name had not been mentioned by his top driver, told Auto, Motor und Sport: "Otherwise why is he competing? But you know Checo should also know he has the capability to also be right there. We need both drivers performing at the best of their ability for the constructors championship."
Verstappen is gearing up for his second title defence having comfortably defended the crown last season. Several drivers will prove a huge threat to his position, but at Red Bull's season launch event, Verstappen name-checked Leclerc, Lewis Hamilton, George Russell and Lando Norris as real threats to him this year if their cars are competitive, but not Perez.
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“That's the same for George, for Charles and for Lando – if you give them a car which is capable of winning a championship, they can. It's also about when you have the car and the pressure comes – you cannot afford mistakes, or at least not big mistakes.
“That's a little bit of a different pressure to have, but I'm confident that once these guys get on a roll, it is possible. They all have the talent to do so." At the same event, Perez stressed that consistency would be the key component to catching Verstappen.
"I was able to match him at the beginning of last season but then I had a very rough period during the middle of the season," the Mexican said. "So, that will be the most important aspect of my season, to find that consistency level.
"In a few races [in 2022] we took the wrong direction with the setup, so we had a rough period of races that put me out of contention. It's important to not have days off in that regard, and to challenge for wins every weekend. It's such a long year that it's really important to take it one by one."