Horner admits Red Bull 'change' with Perez

Christian Horner has claimed that the appearance of a safety car ruined Sergio Perez’s race, but insisted the driver has 'changed' from last season.

Perez displayed poor form in comparison to team-mate Max Verstappen during the 2023 season, failing to finish second to him let alone beat the Dutchman.

READ MORE: Horner throws Perez future into doubt after new Red Bull lineup talks

The pressure increased for Perez when Daniel Ricciardo was introduced back into F1, with rumours he could replace him at Red Bull if he performed well.

However, so far in 2024 Ricciardo has demonstrated a lack of form, whilst Perez has secured three 1-2 finishes for the team.

Horner praises Perez changes

Speaking to Sky Sports F1 after the race Red Bull boss Christian Horner described why Perez missed out on P2.

“We went into the race on a reasonably aggressive two-stop and the safety car timing couldn’t have been worse for us, particularly for Checo because we had to stop again to effectively converge on strategy with Ferrari and McLaren to the end of the race.

“That dropped Checo on track position behind Lando and Charles, and it took him quite a bit of time to get past Charles which probably took quite a bit out of his tyres.

“By the time he’d cleared Charles, his tyres probably weren’t in the best of shape to hunt down Lando, who had great pace today. Nonetheless, another very strong weekend from Checo to get that double podium.”

READ MORE: Verstappen SHOCKED by dramatic F1 Chinese Grand Prix crash

Describing what has ‘changed’ for Perez since his slump last year, Horner believes his confidence has increased.

“I think he’s just in a different mindset. His confidence is high, he’s not obsessing about Max and the other car and what they’re doing, he’s more relaxed, he’s enjoying his racing and he’s just doing his own thing and reacting to the car he’s got.

“I think that change in mindset and approach had definitely put him in a much better position in what we’ve seen so far this year.”

READ MORE: Perez hits 'engineer's brother' in Chinese GP incident

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