Christian Horner has refuted Sergio Perez’s claim that his Red Bull team only prioritized one driver before his arrival.
Sergio Perez’s third season racing for the team after being offered a lifeline following his dismissal from the Racing Point team, now known as Aston Martin. And it appears that he has grown in confidence and strength since then.
Perez had a very successful Formula 1 season in 2022, narrowly missing out on second place in the drivers’ championship. And this season he has gotten off to a strong start, with a comfortable race win in Saudi Arabia.
In a statement before this weekend’s Australian Grand Prix, Perez thanked the team and discussed his current standing.”When I came to the team, things were very different and they were just going racing with two cars because they had to,” said Perez.
“I can say now that I really feel part of the team, I really feel like I have my place well respected. And I think that’s something good to have as a driver.
“I really believe that they have full support of the team as much as Max does and, that I will have every single opportunity to win the championship as much as Max.”
Christian Horner is undoubtedly happy that his driver feels at ease, but he is concerned about Perez’s statement that the team had previously shown favouritism towards one driver.
When questioned about his reaction to Perez’s comments, Horner stated that it was the first time he had heard such claims.
“We always have run two cars since we entered the sport in 2005. And we always want to have the best two drivers that we can in the car, and I think it’s great to see Checo doing certainly a great job now.
“In 2021 he came into the car off the back of the COVID season and at the end of a set of regulations, and he struggled with that car. Last year, he was definitely more at home within the car and two of our 17 victories he achieved. He’s got out the blocks well again this year.
“But we’re only two races into the season and it’s an awful long, long way to go. And, as a team, we’ve always strived to give both drivers the best opportunity and the best equipment we can and then it’s down to what they do on track.
“And that’s whether it’s Max and Checo, or Daniel [Ricciardo] and Max, or Daniel and Seb [Vettel], or Mark [Webber] and Seb, or we could even go back to David Coulthard and Mark Webber. So that’s the way we’ve always rolled and it’s down to what they do on the circuit at the end of the day that counts.”
