"It is inevitable that you want your two cars as close together as you can achieve" - Red Bull boss gives his take on Sergio Perez's underperformance

Red Bull boss Christian Horner admits that the shrinking field makes it more imperative that Sergio Perez produces results that the car is capable of. The 2023 F1 season was a less-than-ideal season for the Mexican as he struggled massively in qualifying.

After a strong start to the season where Sergio Perez won two of the first four races, things took a turn for the worse. After Baku, the Mexicans couldn't win even a single race while his teammate Max Verstappen would clinch 17 wins of the next 18 races.

While Perez has kept his seat, there are certainly suitors for that Red Bull seat and Christian Horner does admit that the shrinking field would make it imperative for both cars to perform at the same level.

As quoted by Motorsport.com, Horner did admit that having Max Verstappen as a teammate is tough on Sergio Perez and would be tough on any driver. He also touched on the importance of extracting the same performance from both cars and said:

“I think that being Max's team-mate is tough and I think that you've got to have a certain resolve and character to be prepared to go up against Max. But as the field converges, it is inevitable that you want your two cars as close together as you can achieve."

He added:

“With Checo, his race pace and his racing, has been very strong on many occasions. It's his performance in qualifying that is probably the area that he needs to focus on over the winter. But he's acutely aware that he's got to up his qualifying average so that he's not having to come from so far back.”

Red Bull boss claims it is Sergio Perez's seat to lose

Talking about the prospects of finalizing Max Verstappen's teammate for the 2025 F1 season, Horner said that it was Sergio Perez's seat to lose but did mention that if the Mexican driver is able to perform at the requisite level, he will keep the seat.

Horner said:

“I think the luxury position we're in, is that we're not in any rush. We've got loads of options and I think it is Checo's seat to lose. He's the one that we're backing. He's our 2024 driver. And if he does a great job next year, there's no reason that we wouldn't extend him into 2025. But it'd be purely based on what he achieves over what will be a large part of the season.”

Sergio Perez will be hoping he can keep the likes of Daniel Ricciardo and Lando Norris at bay as the hunt for his replacement will intensify next season.