Perez reacts to Horner’s comments about lack of points

Sergio Perez has acknowledged Red Bull boss Christian Horner’s recent comments about his lack of points being “unsustainable”, with the Mexican agreeing that he himself is “the first one that is not satisfied” after a run of challenging weekends.

Following a strong start to the campaign – which was followed in June by the announcement of a two-year contract extension – Perez’s results have been further off the mark in recent races. The past six rounds have seen him record a seventh place, an eighth, two DNFs and a 17th place last time out at Silverstone.

Quizzed about Perez’s struggles after the British Grand Prix – a weekend in which he exited qualifying in Q1, having beached his RB20 in the gravel – Horner admitted that the team needed both cars to be scoring points to protect their position in the constructors’ standings.

BUDAPEST, HUNGARY - JULY 18: Sergio Perez of Mexico and Oracle Red Bull Racing looks on in the — Perez says that he and the team are "fully focused" on getting back to their top form

Ahead of the 13th round of the season in Hungary this weekend, Perez was asked about Horner’s remarks as well as how he would deal with the pressure off the back of his recent performances.

“I think it’s obvious,” the 34-year-old responded. “I’m the first one that is not satisfied with the past races, with the past results, and I’m the one that wants to get back to our top form – that’s the main objective for us this weekend.”

In terms of how he will approach returning to that stronger level of performance – and whether this entailed a mental reset for himself as well as within the team – Perez answered: “Yeah, I think the team is fully focused, with the preparation I have with my engineers, with everyone back in the factory.

Perez pressure is 'obvious' as he looks to overcome recent form

“We are all fully focused on the track and, at the end of the day, we know that this is a long season, there is a lot of races ahead. Things can change very quickly, so I’m fully focused.

“I’ve been in this business for a long time, so I know that if I have a good weekend in the coming races, my season can look very different. So, yeah, head down and focused on things I can change, and the rest is out of my hands.”

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Perez currently sits in sixth place of the drivers’ standings on 118 points, while team mate Max Verstappen remains in the lead with a tally of 255.