Christian Horner insists Red Bull ‘trying our hardest’ to give Perez chance to rediscover form as he backs line-up decision

Christian Horner has reiterated that Red Bull are giving Sergio Perez their “full support” in order for the Mexican to rediscover his form, with the team boss stating that the squad would have made a change to their line-up had they felt Perez was not capable of delivering.

After making a solid start to the 2024 season, Perez went on to endure a difficult run of weekends as the first half of the campaign progressed; of the last eight races prior to the summer break, the 34-year-old’s best result was a P7.

Despite signing a two-year contract extension with the squad in early June, speculation soon mounted over whether Perez’s position at Red Bull would be safe for the rest of the season. The team opted to stick with their current line-up, and Horner stated during the Dutch Grand Prix weekend that he is hopeful Perez will perform well in the coming races off the back of a “reset”.

“We know what Checo is capable of,” Horner explained to Sky Sports F1. “We knew at the beginning of the year he was scoring – he had, what, four podiums in five races, and if we can get him back into [that]...

“He’s just had a lack of confidence and has ended up in a bit of a spiral. He’s had a reset hopefully over the summer break. We know there are tracks he’s won at coming up – we have Azerbaijan where he’s won both the Sprint and Grand Prix on the same weekend, he’s won a fantastic Singapore Grand Prix against Charles Leclerc in mixed conditions, he’s been very quick at Monza.

ZANDVOORT, NETHERLANDS - AUGUST 23: Sergio Perez of Mexico driving the (11) Oracle Red Bull Racing — Perez will be aiming to return to form during the final 10 races of the 2024 season

“Zandvoort hasn’t been his best circuit but, of the four races coming up before the next mini break, I would say this is the most challenging one.”

Reflecting further on the team’s driver pairing of Perez and Max Verstappen, Horner added: “It is all about performance. For us, we have the two drivers we believe – in our pool of drivers – are the most capable of giving us the best results. If there was a doubt in that, we would have changed it.”

Horner acknowledged that there will always be pressure on drivers in the sport, but reaffirmed his belief that Perez can return to his stronger form.

“It is a pressure business – all the drivers know they are under pressure to deliver,” the Team Principal said. “That’s Formula 1, that’s up and down the grid.

“Checo, we know what he’s capable of, we know when he’s performing what he’s capable of delivering, and we just need to get him back in that window and give him the car that gives him that confidence.”

SPA, BELGIUM - JULY 28: Sergio Perez of Mexico and Oracle Red Bull Racing talks to Oracle Red Bull — Horner believes that Perez is a "driver who is capable of bouncing back"

Amid the recent speculation over Perez’s seat, rumours persisted over whether one of RB’s current pairing of Daniel Ricciardo and Yuki Tsunoda – as well as reserve driver Liam Lawson – could be potential candidates to replace the Mexican should the team opt to do so.

However, when asked if the squad had not seen enough from Ricciardo to prove he deserved the promotion, Horner again stated that they would have made changes if they had deemed it necessary.

“We have the two best drivers, we believe, in the cars, so we have all the data from all of the drivers,” Horner concluded. “We have that information and if we felt there was something better, we would have changed it by now.

“We believe what we have is capable of defending the championship. We finished first and second in last year’s championship, first and third the year before, and won in ’21 as well.

“You are very quick to condemn Sergio – we are trying our hardest to give him the chance to rediscover that form. And he has to cope with all the pressure, all the media, the social media that piles in on the back of that.

“He’s a driver who is capable of bouncing back, and we are giving him our full support and want to see him respond.”