Christian Horner no longer feels Red Bull has a ‘pair of drivers’ like F1 rivals after Sergio Perez’s torrid form continues 

Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner mentioned that Sergio Perez's poor form in the 2023 season has meant that the team do not have the same strength in their driver lineup as compared to their rivals.

The Mexican driver has struggled for the most part after his early season brilliance when he threatened to challenge his teammate Max Verstappen for the championship fight.

But since Spain, the increasing number of mistakes and a lack of pace have proved calamitous for Sergio Perez and put his seat with Red Bull in doubt.

Speaking to the media after the 2023 Qatar GP, Horner claimed that not having both drivers fighting at the front might cost the team in the future, as their rivals have two drivers consistently fighting at the top.

He said:

"I think with a car like we have, he's probably putting that pressure on himself. The most important thing for us is winning both [drivers’ and teams’] championships. We've done that. And then, what's the next best thing after that would be to have both your drivers first and second."

"You can see Mercedes have a pair, McLaren have a pair, Ferrari have a pair that are quite tight between the respective drivers. I think we've had that at the earlier point in the year. But as the season has gone on it's become more variant. We just need to get Checo back to the best form that he's capable of," he added.

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Sergio Perez analyzes his difficult weekend in Qatar

After officially conceding the title fight to Max Verstappen, Sergio Perez never really looked competitive throughout the whole weekend in Qatar. He finished in P10 in the main race after having a host of time penalties throughout.

As per F1.com, Sergio Perez said:

"It was a difficult afternoon, starting on the hard tyre really complicated things for us, especially with the early Safety Car. It meant we couldn’t warm up the tyres and then we ended up losing positions and couldn’t make progress quickly enough, and as much as we should have."

"I really suffered with the new track limits, they were brought in very last minute, which I don’t think is right but it is the same for everyone and I should have done a better job," he added.

It will be fascinating to see if Sergio Perez can hold on to P2 in the Drivers' Championship as he is being hunted down by Lewis Hamilton in every race.