Red Bull F1: Christian Horner offers damning Sergio Perez verdict as team demands made clear

Red Bull

Horner offers DAMNING Perez verdict as Red Bull demands made clear

Sergio Perez's Red Bull future once again appears in jeopardy

Sheona Mountford F1 Journalist

Motorsport journalist working in F1 since 2024.

Sunday 29 September 2024 03:00

Red Bull Formula 1 chief Christian Horner has delivered a damning verdict on Sergio Perez's performances so far in 2024.

The Mexican lines up alongside three-time world champion Max Verstappen, but has rarely, if ever, been able to match the performances of his team-mate this year.

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Despite this, Red Bull have opted to retain Perez thus far, despite previously being somewhat brutal when it comes to making decisions on their driver lineups.

Just this week, for example, Daniel Ricciardo has lost his seat at VCARB, replaced by Liam Lawson for the remainder of the season.

Sergio Perez has struggled to perform in 2024

Sergio Perez's future was under threat prior to the summer break

Is Sergio Perez’ Red Bull future in jeopardy?

When asked by Martin Brundle how Red Bull ended up with a weaker driver line-up despite having brought through so many stronger drivers, Horner identified how demanding the team’s system was and the pressure Perez was under.

“I mean we’ve given a great opportunity to so many youngsters over the period of time, many of who you’ve mentioned there,” Horner said on Sky Sports F1 at the Singapore GP.

“The Red Bull system, it does demand results and demand performance and of course, Max is delivering, Checo has been underdelivering this year.

“Last year he did a good job or a good enough job to finish second in the championship and be constructors’ champion.”

Christian Horner assesses Red Bull's driver options

“We’re having to look further down the road, we’ve got some great talent, you know we’ve got Liam Lawson on the bench,” Horner added.

“We’re not quite sure looking at the likes of Colapinto and Bearman and Antonelli, is he at that level? Only time will tell.

“We’ve got Isack Hadjar in Formula 2 that’s been until recently leading that championship, we’ve got a very exciting young talent that I’m particularly excited about in F3, Arvid Lindblad, so we’ve got depth in our junior program.”

NASCAR Red Bull Max Verstappen Daniel Ricciardo Christian Horner Sergio Perez