Christian Horner is aware that Lewis Hamilton’s team has him beat in one area even though Mercedes may not currently have a car that can compete with Red Bull on the racetrack.
Luckily, his team has a car that, in every race weekend but one this year, has proved untouchable. Red Bull RB19s have competed in 16 of the 17 races so far in 2023, with the only exception being the Singapore Grand Prix where the team had to take a rare weekend off.
Max Verstappen gets the most out of the car. He is already assured of the drivers’ title and the 433 points he has scored so far means Red Bull would still lead the constructors’ championship even if he were the only contender best of the team.
The weak link in the Red Bull team’s efforts this season is Perez. The Mexican driver is still second in the rankings, but he is only 30 points ahead of Lewis Hamilton despite having a car that is much superior to the Mercedes driven by the seven-time world champion.
Horner has been optimistic about protecting Perez for much of this season, even during the 33-year-old’s most difficult times. But he is starting to show signs that his patience is wearing thin, such as his claim that Red Bull is lacking a strong driver duo as its closest rivals have themselves. moat.
“I think with a car like ours, he probably put pressure on himself,” he said of Pérez’s situation. “The most important thing for us is to win both championships. We did it. And the next best thing is to have your two drivers in first and second place.
You can see Mercedes has a pair, McLaren has a pair, Ferrari has a pretty tight pair between their respective drivers. I think we got it earlier this year. But as the season progressed, the situation became more and more diverse. We just need to get Checo back to the best form he can be. »
Horner continued to support Perez, insisting the team would “give whatever support we can” to help him get back to his best. But if it fails to do so, the team boss fears it will dash Red Bull’s championship ambitions in 2024 and open the door for Hamilton and others to challenge their supremacy.
He added:
“The disappointing thing is that we know what Checo is capable of doing. Of course, last year and this year he contributed significantly to the Constructors’ Championship. We were keen for him to return to form that and as that team we need him because . “We cannot accept a big separation because if, as you expect, the grid continues to come together next year, we need both drivers to be at the top of their game.”