Horner Under the Spotlight: Perez’s Future and Performance Debated Ahead of Red Bull’s Strategic Meeting

Christian Horner faced inquiries regarding Sergio Perez's prospects prior to today's pivotal gathering. Christian Horner responded to inquiries from the press, including Crash.net, on Sergio Perez’s outing in Belgium.

Red Bull's team leader, Christian Horner, acknowledged that his team had not anticipated Sergio Perez's drop to seventh place in the F1 Belgian Grand Prix.

Expectations were elevated for the struggling Mexican driver to potentially secure a podium spot and counter his recent performance decline, especially since he had achieved his best qualifying position since the Chinese Grand Prix in April, beginning the race from the second position at Spa-Francorchamps.

At the beginning, Perez swiftly fell behind Lewis Hamilton and continued to lose ground as the race went on. He crossed the finish line in eighth position, trailing three spots behind his fellow team member Max Verstappen. However, he was later elevated to seventh place following George Russell's disqualification due to his car not meeting the minimum weight requirement during the post-race inspection.

When queried by Crash.net on whether Red Bull had higher expectations for Perez in Belgium, Horner responded, saying, “With a front-row start, we believed before the race that finishing in third and fifth positions was within reach.

"We secured the fifth position, yet we fell short of reaching the third. Clearly, it's essential for us to examine the data to pinpoint where the decrease in speed occurred."

Asked if Red Bull felt let down by Perez's showing, Horner responded, “Given his initial grid spot, ending up in eighth place from second wasn't something we had anticipated.”

"Checo has faced challenges in the recent races. Horner pointed out, 'It's perplexing because he began the season strongly, but then his performance declined.'"

"He performed exceptionally well, remarkably so during yesterday's qualifying. Clearly, we must review and comprehend the problems encountered during the race. We have the opportunity to do so, to scrutinize and collaborate with him on these matters."

Red Bull plans to convene today to deliberate on Perez's career prospects with the team. Horner sought to minimize the importance of this gathering, emphasizing that "nobody" is in favor of the idea of changing drivers mid-season.

"There's a scheduled meeting for us tomorrow, Monday, but it's not solely focused on Checo," he mentioned. "There are also additional matters to discuss, which is typical as we head into the summer holiday."

"Expanding Max's advantage before the summer hiatus will undoubtedly contribute to a more relaxing break for him. Our primary aim remains the constructors' championship, which saw us losing an additional seven or eight points today."

"We have to make a turnaround after the break at Zandvoort."

When questioned by Crash.net about the duration Red Bull plans to allow Perez to improve his performance, Horner replied, “I believe he’s fully conscious of the necessity for both vehicles to perform well.

"This is precisely the situation we found ourselves in at the year's start, and it's where we must aim to return."

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