“Thankfully, Ferrari had a shocker” : Christian Horner believes Red Bull escape serious damage as Sergio Perez’s woes continue
Sergio Perez endured another tough weekend in Canada, as the Red Bull driver failed to make it past the first qualifying session. The Mexican driver eventually had to retire his car for the second straight weekend, after a collision towards the Turn 6.
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner believes that the team mitigated their loss of points over the weekend, as both Ferrari drivers also finished outside the points. Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz had a shocking weekend, after they grabbed two podium places including the race win in Monaco.
Max Verstappen’s victory in Canada meant that Red Bull extended their lead in the Constructors championship to 49 points. However, Christian Horner believes that Sergio Perez will need to put up a good show in Barcelona next week, as the European leg of the season begins.
“It was a horrible weekend for Checo and obviously, we picked up some damage. He’ll need to come back strong in Barcelona. Thankfully, Ferrari had a shocker and didn’t get any points so that let us off the hook somewhat, but we need both cars scoring,” Horner said to Sky Sports.
“We got away with it today but we need Checo back up there where he was at the beginning of the year from Barcelona onwards,” he added.
“He’s a tough racer and he’s a tough character” : Christian Horner on Sergio Perez
Christian Horner has backed Sergio Perez to make a comeback amidst his struggles over the past three races. The Mexican driver suffered a horrible crash in Monaco, which was followed by another DNF in Canada.
However, the British boss believes that Sergio Perez has a tough character, and has no doubt that he will bounce back in style next week.
“What we see with Checo time and time again is that when you think he’s on the ropes, he bounces back,” Horner added.
“He’s a tough racer and he’s a tough character and it hurts him more than anybody else.He’ll be determined to come back and show everybody the form we know he’s capable of and that he showed in the first four races of this year,” he added.
Sergio Perez will need to start supporting his teammate in terms of points as Ferrari and McLaren have certainly closed the gap on Red Bull this season. Mercedes have also gotten back into their mix, with George Russell finishing P3 in Canada. Currently, Max Verstappen sits on top of the Drivers’ championship, as Sergio Perez sits on the fifth spot, after securing just 4 points in the last three races.
