Christian Horner says Sergio Perez is “wise” enough to
know F1 is a “results-based business”, and the one big result he can contribute
towards is the Constructors’ Championship.
Perez endured
another miserable weekend at the Brazilian Grand Prix where he scored a
solitary point, heaping more pressure on the Mexican driver’s shoulders amidst
reports he may not even see out the season with Red Bull.
Sergio Perez is ‘wise enough’ to know he needs results
That was refuted by Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut
Marko, however, in doing so he made it clear Perez’s place at the team is not
secure for 2025 despite the driver signing a new contract earlier this year.
“We are currently evaluating everything,” Marko told
Austrian newspaper Kleine Zeitung. “Decisions will only be made after Abu
Dhabi.”
Scoring a solitary point in Brazil where he was P8 in the
Sprint race while Max Verstappen brought in 31 including the Grand Prix win,
Perez has scored just eight points in the last five races. In that time Red
Bull have not only lost the lead in the Constructors’ Championship to McLaren
in Baku, but they also dropped behind Ferrari in Mexico.
With 544 points on the board, the reigning World
Champions trail McLaren by 49 points and Ferrari by 13.
Perez’s future could be determined by whether or not he’s
able to help Red Bull wrestle back control in the teams’ standings as that’s
still very much one of Red Bull’s big goals in the final three races of the
season – and perhaps the final three in Perez’s Red Bull career too.
“Formula One, as we know, is results-based business,”
Horner told TalkSPORT, “and Sergio is very, very aware of that.
“And you know, he’s not happy with how the season has
gone for him, as you would expect. So yeah, he’s big enough and old enough and
wise enough to recognise that.
“But our focus is very much still on the Constructors’ Championship as well and we need Sergio to be up there scoring in these last couple of races, or last three races, if we to have any chance of challenging either Ferrari or McLaren.”
