Red Bull boss Christian Horner has expressed that it “hurts” to see Sergio Perez struggle as his woes continued with an eighth place in Formula 1’s Belgian Grand Prix.
Perez was well-poised to banish his recent wretched run as he qualified third at a damp Spa-Francorchamps to land a front-row start with Max Verstappen’s grid drop.
However, the Mexican lost a spot to Lewis Hamilton at the start and then proceeded to go backwards throughout the remaining laps as Red Bull’s rivals overtook him.
Horner has admitted Perez’s regression through the order meant the team missed out on the expectation that it would take a podium as Verstappen recovered to fifth.
“Starting on the front row, objective really was pre-race, we felt that third and fifth would be achievable,” Horner stated.
“We achieved the fifth, but we didn’t achieve the third. So we obviously need to go through the data understand, you know, where, where his loss of pace was?”
Asked whether he was disappointed with Perez’s showing, Horner added: “Based on his starting position, we didn’t envisage finishing eighth from second on the grid.”
Horner has proclaimed that Perez’s strong start to the season, where he recorded four podiums in five races, has made his collapse in results even more bewildering.
“Checo’s had a tough run over the last few races,” he acknowledged. And what’s so confusing for us is the season started so well for him, and then tailed off.
“He did a super job in qualifying yesterday, obviously, we need to go through and understand you know, the issues in the in the race.
“So we got the time to do that and analyse that and, you know, work with him.”
Horner has denied that Red Bull’s upcoming meeting has been set up based on Perez’s plight alone, though he’s conceded that the team needs both drivers delivering.
“We’re constantly analysing, we’re constantly looking at things,” he explained.
“Yeah, we’ve got a meeting tomorrow, but it’s not just about Checo. It’s going to have other topics on the agenda as well, which we always do going into the summer break.
“So for us, extending the lead going into summer break for Max will give him a better a better rest.
“I think for us, the focus is on the Constructors that we’ve seen another seven or eight points taken off us again today.
“You know, we need to start, you know, we need to turn that around coming out of the break in Zandvoort.”
Horner has proclaimed that the entire Red Bull team is desperate to see Perez turn around the prospects which have seen him score 28 points in the past eight races.
“Checo is a great team player, and he’s a massive team player. And that’s why he was selected,” Horner stressed.
“That’s why we took him at the end of 2020 to put alongside Max and you know, he’s won six, seven races for us.
“Second in the World Championship last year, goodness knows how many podiums, has been the most successful combination we’ve ever had as a as a driver pairing.
“And then what’s frustrating for everybody is Checo struggling because nobody wants to see him struggle. Everybody wants to see him succeed.
“You know, the team has been and is right behind him. Everybody wants to see him, you know, succeed, because it hurts seeing him in the situation that he is.”
With rumours circulating over a possible mid-season swap amid the upcoming evaluation, Horner is adamant that such an outcome is not the desired one in Red Bull.
“Nobody wants to make that decision,” he professed. “You know, I mean, obviously you guys talk about it every day. But in the team, we want to get him going.”
Pressed on how long Red Bull is willing to give Perez to get his act together, Horner concluded: “I think that that’s he’s acutely aware that we need both cars performing and which is what we had at the beginning of the year. And that’s where we need to get back to.”
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